The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of ethanolic extracts of Cucurbita pepo and Linum usitatissimum seedcakes before and after enzymatic hydrolysis by glycosidases: alpha-amylase from Aspergillus oryzae, beta-glucosidase and beta-glucanase from Aspergillus niger and enzymes combination in a ratio of 1:1:1 were investigated. Total phenolic, flavonoid, reducing sugar content and antioxidant activity according to DPPH and ABTS tests were measured in non-hydrolysed extracts and compared with the results obtained for the extracts after the application of immobilised enzymes. In vitro antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the disc diffusion method. The extracts from hydrolysed seedcakes had a higher phenolic, flavonoid and reducing sugar content as well as higher antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in comparison with those of non-hydrolysed one. The highest antimicrobial activity showed L. usitatissimum seedcake extracts after hydrolysis by an enzyme combination. The enzymatic hydrolysis of seedcakes improved the extraction of phenolic compounds and therefore improved their antiradical and antimicrobial properties.

Evaluation of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Enzymatically Hydrolysed Cucurbita pepo and Linum usitatissimum Seedcakes

The aim of the presented work was to evaluate polar and non-polar extracts and fatty oil, isolated from pumpkin fruit (Cucurbita pepo L.), as a potential food supplements or raw material for cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations. The extracts were isolated from the pumpkin peel, mesocarp and pulp and fatty oil from the seeds. The highest yield of total extractive matter and highest β-carotene content was determined in peel extracts at concentrations of 5.45 g/100gf.p.m and 136.22 μgg−1f.p.m, respectively. The presence of phenolic acids, flavonoids and carotenoids in polar and non-polar extracts was confirmed by UHPLC-DAD-ESI-MS and HPLC-DAD analysis, respectively. The yield of fatty oil in the seeds was 34.53%, while TLC and HPLC analysis showed the highest percentage of triglycerides (99.3%) and methyl esters (99.7%) in fatty oil and fatty acids methyl esters, respectively. Non-polar extracts of peel showed the highest antioxidant activity estimated by DPPH test (EC50 = 0.041 mgcm−3), fully comparable to activity of synthetic BHT antioxidant (EC50 = 0.021 mgcm−3). High linear correlation factor (0.9969) of EC50 values on β-carotene concentration suggests that β-carotene is the most responsible for significant antioxidant activity of non-polar extracts. Investigated isolates showed no antimicrobial activity against Lt. monocytogenes, St. aureus, E. coli, P. vulgaris, C. albicans, P. aeruginosa, B. cereus, K. pneumoniae and B. luteus under the examined conditions. Bearing in mind the results presented, the C. pepo isolates can be used as an alternative to synthetic antioxidants and a rich source of phytochemicals in food and pharmaceutical industry.

Pumpkin fruit (Cucurbita pepo L.) as a source of phytochemicals useful in food and pharmaceutical industries



 The present review aims to discuss the therapeutic potential and pharmaceutical applications
of the Cucurbita plant.



Various search engines such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, Google Patents,
etc. were used for the literature survey.



 During the literature survey, it was observed that different parts of the Cucurbita species
have significant therapeutic effects against disease conditions. They have antimicrobial, antifungal,
antiviral, antiulcer, antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, etc., activities. Studies also
showed that various pharmaceutical formulations have been prepared for the delivery of therapeutic
active ingredients of cucurbits. A list of patents based on pharmaceutical formulations and therapeutic
activity has also been included in the manuscript.



 It can be concluded from the findings that Cucurbita has significant therapeutic potential,
clinical effects and can be used to treat various diseases.


Therapeutic Potential and Pharmaceutical Applications of Cucurbita

/pdf/evaluation-of-antibacterial-effect-of-cucurbita-pepo-yakten-43302nc6w9.pdf

Evaluation of Antibacterial Effect of Cucurbita pepo (Yakten) Extracts on Multi-antibiotic Resistance Bacterial Strains Isolated From Human Urinary Tract Infections

Cytomegaloviruses (CMV) cause common infections in humans with a prevalence of over 70% in adults, reaching 90% in poorer communities and developing countries. In immunecompromised and transplant recipients, CMV causes serious complications including pneumonia and ulcerative colitis. Studying the effect of CMV on human immune-inflammatory genes in immune cellular responses is critically important to explore the molecular mechanisms of viral-host interaction. The aim of this study is to explore changes in the mRNA transcripts of a panel of 84 human inflammatory genes. Ninety blood samples were collected from healthy persons used as control samples and compared with acute infection with CMV sample from bioinformatics data (previous researches). Real time-PCR array were performed to determine mRNA levels expression levels of 84 different cytokines and chemokines in control`s leukocytes concentrate. CMV infection caused upregulation (between 44.99 and 0.92 fold change) in the expression of 13 human immuneinflammatory genes (IL-1 alpha, IL10R Alpha, CXCL10, IL10, CX3CR1, CCL2, CCR5, CCR7, CXCL1, IL-1β, TNF, IFN-alpha 2, CCL5). Gene ontology analysis revealed that CMV causes high impact on four key pathways in infected cells.

/pdf/bioinformatics-effect-of-cytomegalovirus-infection-on-human-cdrvqbbu8b.pdf

Abdulrhem Th. Al-Ghazal

Papers

Evaluation of Antibacterial Effect of Cucurbita pepo (Yakten) Extracts on Multi-antibiotic Resistance Bacterial Strains Isolated From Human Urinary Tract Infections

Bioinformatics: Effect of Cytomegalovirus Infection on Human Immune Gene Expression