Phytochemical, Physicochemical and GC-MS Screening of Dyes Extracted from Tagetes Erecta and Tithonia Diversifolia

Chlorophyll, anthocyanins, carotenoids and lycopene are naturally occurring pigments that give fruits and vegetables their characteristic bright colors. Spices though primarily used for flavoring and preserving food also contain these pigments. Owing to the vast array of application, especially, of natural pigments in food, cosmetic, nutraceutical and medicine, several extraction methods have been described including the use of oils as a solvent to recover these bioactive compounds. Our goal is to study the oxidative stability of infused/macerated oils stored over time. Cloves and cinnamon were macerated in olive oil (OO) and njangsa seed oil (NSO) over 7 d at 45-50oC. The contents of chlorophyll a and b, lycopene and carotenoids were determined spectrophotometrically. Higher pigments contents were measured in NSO than OO. All the oils and macerates showed reduced pigments content (45 - 88%) with incubation, indicating increased oxidative degradation and reduction of shelf life. Generally, higher reduction in pigments content were observed in NSO-macerated spices (75 - 83%) compared with their olive oil counterparts due to its high level of unsaturated fatty acids. The results highlighted the need to improve shelf stability of pigments towards various processing and storage conditions to preserve the beneficial properties of oils and macerates.

Simultaneous Determination of Pigments Content in Oils and Macerates

Screening the Growth of Cyanobacteria Aphanothece under Photoautotrophic and Photoheterotrophic Conditions Ifti Ahmed1,2, Ali Parsaeimehr1, Ph.D., and Bertand Hankoua1, Ph.D. 1Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Delaware State University, Dover, DE 19901 2Middletown High School, Middletown, DE 19709. Microalgae are used in different industrial sectors including, the biopharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The main objective of this study was to identify a high yield photoheterotrophic condition for the Cyanobacteria Aphanothece in aim to produce phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin metabolites with pharmaceutical values. In this study, a BG11 based media was used. To establish a photoheterotrophic conditions a ratio of glucose (0, 025, 0.5, 2, and 4%) as a carbon source was applied. Our results demonstrated, a higher yield of biomass under the photoheterotrophic conditions containing 2 % glucose (3.11 ± 0.35 g/L fresh weight, OD750=1.08 ±0.14 7th day; relative growth rate: OD750= 0.120 ± 0.2 day, 74.22 ±3.2%, an increase of 74.22 ±3.2% compared to photoautotrophic growth). A negative influence was observed at higher concentration of carbon source (4% of glucose) on the biomass production (52.82 ±2.7 % decrease). Considerably, the production of phycocyanin (6.72 ± 0.42 mg/g fresh weight), and allophycocyanin (0.132 ± 0.08 mg/g fresh weight) were recorded higher under the photoheterotrophic condition compared to the photoautotrophic growth by 236 ± 17 % and 69.23 ± 8.3 % increase, respectively for phycocyanin and allophycocyanin. We observed increasing the carbon source to 4% had a negative impact by 128.57 ± 14 % decrease on the production of phycocyanin, while a positive influence by 145 ± 12 % increase on the allophycocyanin production (0.324 ± 0.028 mg/g fresh weight). In conclusion, we suggest a photoheterotrophic BG11 based media with 2 % glucose for the production of phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin when using Cyanobacteria Aphanothece as a platform. Keywords: Aphanothece, photoheterotrophic, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin Funder Acknowledgments: We acknowledge USDA NIFA Capacity Building Grant Award# 2016-06642 for funding my internship and the project as part of the student experiential learning goal and the project Director, Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay for providing this internship opportunity.

Screening the growth of the cyanobacteria Aphanothece under photoautotrophic and Photoheterotrophic conditions

There is increasing interest in natural products that spans many applications due to their perceived safety over synthetic counterparts. Medicinal plants and herbs like Prunus africana (African cherry) and Syzygium aromaticum (cloves) have been traditionally used in herbal remedies. The phytochemicals in these materials have been reported to be bioactive and linked to various properties including antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of various extraction methods on the phytochemical composition and in vitro antibacterial activities of African cherry and cloves. Cloves and African cherry and were infused in olive oil for 15 or 17, respectively or extracted with methanol or water. The total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were measured spectrophotometrically, and antimicrobial activities were tested against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Aeromonas sobria using the agar diffusion assay. The TPC of African cherry and cloves extracts ranged between 0.02 and 262.81 mg GAE/g. Aqueous extracts of cloves had the highest TFC of 4.54 mg Rutin/g. A dose dependent radical scavenging activity was observed in the methanolic extracts of cloves and African cherry and aqueous extract of cloves. Both methanolic extracts were efficient, with low amounts of radicals remaining at the highest concentration tested. Methanolic extract of cloves exhibited antimicrobial activity against all microorganisms studied. The results suggest that both materials are strong antioxidants and magnitude is dependent on method of extraction and type of solvent used.

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Phytochemical, Physicochemical and GC-MS Screening of Dyes Extracted from Tagetes Erecta and Tithonia Diversifolia

Simultaneous Determination of Pigments Content in Oils and Macerates

Screening the growth of the cyanobacteria Aphanothece under photoautotrophic and Photoheterotrophic conditions

Bioactive Properties of Prunus africana and Syzygium aromaticum Macerates and Extracts

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