Inulinase is an inulin degrading enzyme that exhibits versatility in disparate bioresource and bioprocess industries. In this study, invertase-free exoinulinase was initially produced from Glutamicibacter arilaitensis strain ALA4 using diversified inexpensive substrates under solid state fermentation. Strain ALA4 revealed maximum production of inulinase using goat dung as quintessential feedstock. Inulinase activity of strain ALA4 was further optimized by one-factor-at-a-time method, followed by response surface methodology, which showed enhanced inulinase activity of 4678.34±34.67 U/g at 96 h using goat dung medium of pH 8.0 with 100% of moisture content. Furthermore, crude inulinase was not only thermo-alkali stable but also exhibited tolerance towards varied metal ions, organic solvents, surfactants, and inhibitors with satisfactory residual activities. Additionally, fructose produced due to the hydrolysis of inulin present in goat dung was analyzed by osazone and HPTLC tests which further confirmed exoinulinase nature of enzyme. In a nutshell, the study evidenced the first report on invertase-free exoinulinase production from G. arilaitensis using goat dung as proficient feedstock and demonstrated its quiescent applications in bioprocessing industries in future.

Considering the essentiality to find effectual biological agents as therapeutics, biosurfactants have shown remarkable significance in recent years. Biosurfactants are surface-active amphiphilic metabolites which are predominantly produced from biological sources, particularly from microorganisms. Glycolipids, lipopeptides, phospholipids, lipoproteins, polymeric biosurfactants, and particulate biosurfactants are the leading classes of biosurfactants. Disparate properties such as self-assembly, biodegradability, emulsification, low/no toxicity, and biocompatibility make biosurfactant a perfect biologically active substance with respect to the chemical surfactants. Over the past few years, biosurfactant is being used as capping, reducing, stabilizing, and coating agent in nanobiotechnology as eco-friendly alternative biomolecules to the physical and chemical substances with higher efficiency. Biosurfactants-mediated nanoparticles have exhibited multipurpose roles in biomedicine, particularly as antibacterial, antifungal, antibiofilm, anticancer, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, mosquitocidal, and dermal drug delivery agents, without showing toxicity to the normal cells. This chapter sheds light not only on the fundamental aspects (classification, structures, genetics, and properties) of biosurfactants but also on the recent updates emphasizing the foremost therapeutic attributes of biosurfactants-mediated nanoparticles as next-generation drug delivery system.

Considering the devastating threat and high mortalities due to the uncontrolled emergence of tuberculosis (TB) and cancer over the past few decades, the discovery of a new therapeutic approach is the desperate demand of this hour. Liposomes are a new drug delivery system that has created tremendous interest towards the treatment of TB and cancer. These microscopic spherical vesicles constitute one or few phospholipid bilayers representing polar groups of phospholipids towards the inner side and aqueous phase towards the outer side. These closed bilayer structures are generally preferred for encapsulation and delivery of potential drugs in order to entrap both hydrophilic and hydrophobic components because of the availability of aqueous core parts and lipid bilayers. Till date, several antitubercular and anticancer drugs have been formulated as liposomes for enhancing the therapeutic values. In addition, varieties of vesicular drug delivery systems viz. archeosomes, emulsomes, ethosomes, niosomes, transfersomes, vesosomes, and virosomes are developed as new generation liposomes for the treatment of various types of cancer. The prime focus of this chapter is to shed light on the antitubercular and anticancer aspects of the liposomes encapsulating diversified drugs, indicating its profound influence as effectual prophylactic and therapeutic alternatives to the existing other drug delivery systems in the future.

Pakistan has large variety of medicinal plants distributed throughout the country. Due to the unavailability and high cost of allopathic medicines, herbal therapists, especially in rural areas, prescribe phytomedicine for Epilepsy. The native people consider such treatments most effective for seizures. The data of the effective antiepileptic medicinal plants of Pakistan were collected from the published research articles by exploring article search engines like PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. Additional information such as mode of preparation and application of medicinal herbs were acquired from folk medicine users, traditional healers, and local people enriched in knowledge of herbal medicines. Total 97 families were uncovered to be used in epileptic and seizure disorders, of which, the foremost use belonged to Lamiacea 19 (18.56%), Asteraceae and Fabaceae 16 (16.5%) each, Fabaceae 11 (11.34%), Rubiaceae, Rutaceae, and Apocynaceae 6 (2.4%) each, Caesalpiniaceae, Solanaceae, Byrtaceae and Anacardiaceae 5 (2%) each, and Liliaceae, Mimosaceae, Ranunculaceae and Combretaceae 4 (1.6%) each. According to the plants habit, of 241 plants, herbs were 102 (42.15%), trees were 72 (29.75%), shrubs were 54 (22.31%), climbers were 12 (4.96%), and bulbs were 2 (0.83%). According to the part used, 105 (43.39%) plants were found to have antiepileptic potentials in leaves, 51 (31.07%) plants in roots, 20 (8.36%) plants in stem, 8 (3.31%) plants in rhizome, 4 (1.65%) plants in bulb, 32 (13.22%) plants in bark, 6 (2.48%) plants in gum, 19 (7.85%) plants in flowers, 18 (7.44%) plants in fruits, 24 (9.92%) plants in seeds, and 29 (11.98%) plants as a whole. This review provides foundation for researchers to understand the pivotal role of certain medicinal plants towards the treatment of epilepsy and seizures.

Enzyme immobilization has gained considerable significance among other techniques for improving the saccharification ability of disparate lignocellulosic biomasses. In this investigation, the partially purified cellulase (approximately 38 kDa) from Glutamicibacter arilaitensis strain ALA4 was immobilized on various matrices (calcium alginate, k-carrageenan, agar-agar, and gelatin) for evaluating saccharification ability of alkali (4% w/v NaOH) pre-treated aquatic weeds (Alternanthera philoxeroides and Brachiaria mutica) biomass. The immobilization of cellulase using various matrices showed improvement in total reducing sugar (TRS) yield and saccharification efficiency of biomasses in the order of calcium alginate > gelatine > k-carrageenan > agar-agar. Calcium alginate immobilized cellulase exhibited maximum TRS and saccharification efficiency of 17.85 +/- 0.18 mg/g and 80.32 +/- 0.6%, respectively from pre-treated A. philoxeroides biomass. On the other hand, calcium alginate immobilized cellulase exhibited maximum TRS and saccharification efficiency of 19.51 +/- 0.2 mg/g and 87.79 +/- 0.6%, respectively from pre-treated B. mutica biomass. Further, the thermo-alkali stability, storage stability, and reusability of calcium alginate immobilized cellulase were determined using standard methodologies. The immobilized cellulase showed higher thermo-alkali stability than free cellulase with residual activities of 46.36 +/- 3.6 and 40.55 +/- 2.6% at 65 degrees C and pH 10.0, respectively. Likewise, the immobilized cellulase retained its activity for at least 22-24 days of storage at 4 degrees C. Most importantly, the immobilized enzyme maintained its saccharification ability towards pre-treated A. philoxeroides and B. mutica up to 4th and 5th cycle, respectively. In conclusion, bacterial cellulase can be immobilized on different matrices, particularly calcium alginate for improving the TRS yield and saccharification efficiency of aquatic weeds biomasses.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are one of the most pervasive heterogeneous groups of bacteria which are used as starter/adjunct cultures to enhance the aroma and texture of fermented foods. The organoleptic characteristics of fermented foods rely on disparate metabolic attributes of CNS. Nitrate reductase production from CNS improves sensory characteristics of foods by converting nitrate into nitrite. These bacteria utilize arginine via arginine deiminase pathway in the cytosol, and thus, play effective role in the generation of colour of fermented foods. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. develop flavour in foods by fermenting carbohydrates, converting amino acids, inducing β-oxidation of lipids, and secreting esterases. Additionally, the characteristic flavour of foods depends on the proteolytic and lipolytic properties of CNS strains too. Coagulase-negative staphylococci strains have revealed exemplary functional or probiotic traits by showing tolerance to acidic pH and bile, depicting adhesion characteristics, producing exopolysaccharide, and secreting therapeutic bacteriocins. Unfortunately, some CNS strains have shown antibiotics resistance, enterotoxins secretions, biogenic amine productions, haemolytic activities, and biofilm formations, thereby indicated the utilization of CNS on strain-by-strain basis. This review sheds light not only on the metabolic heterogeneity and techno-functional traits but also the safety and pathogenic aspects of fermented foods-associated CNS strains.

In this investigation, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized using cellulase (partially purified from Glutamicibacter arilaitensis strain ALA4) as reducing agent. The biosynthesis of AuNPs was confirmed by observing the appearance of purple colour solution with surface plasmon resonance absorption peak (λmax) at 574 nm. The SEM analysis showed the synthesis of gold nanocrystals with an average size of 5–7 nm. Cellulase was partially purified from strain ALA4 using standard protocols, and further immobilized on AuNPs for assessing its role in the saccharification of alkali (4% w/v NaOH) pre-treated aquatic weeds (Alternanthera philoxeroides and Brachiaria mutica) biomass. The pre-treated biomass of A. philoxeroides exhibited maximum total reducing sugar (TRS) yield of 18.95 ± 0.18 mg/g at 72 h. The pre-treated biomass exhibited increased saccharification degree of 38.25 ± 0.8, 49.05 ± 0.7, 67.05 ± 0.7, 85.27 ± 0.8, and 67.99 ± 0.8% from 12 to 96 h. Likewise, the pre-treated biomass of B. mutica exhibited maximum TRS yield of 20.98 ± 0.17 mg/g at 72 h. The pre-treated biomass exhibited increased saccharification degree of 44.46 ± 0.7, 55.53 ± 0.8, 73.26 ± 0.7, 94.41 ± 0.8, and 73.3 ± 0.7% from 12 to 96 h. Bioethanol production from pre-treated aquatic weeds were estimated by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process using yeast cells immobilized on sodium alginate. Ethanol content was estimated using Gas Chromatography. The yeast cells immobilized in calcium alginate beads showed ethanol production of 45.09 and 50.1% from NaOH pre-treated A. philoxeroides and B. mutica biomass, respectively. Findings of this study suggested pronounced role of bacterial cellulase-assisted-synthesized AuNPs in biofuel industries for the successful production of bioethanol from distinct aquatic weeds biomass in a cost-effective manner in future.

Antibiotics-based therapy plays a paramount role in equine medicine because of their potential pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics properties. Conventional antibiotics show bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties by interfering bacterial cell wall and protein synthesis as well as inhibiting RNA polymerase, DNase 1, and DNA gyrase. Antibiotics are extensively used not only for the treatment of varied bacterial infections but also the prevention of postoperative and secondary infections. Surprisingly, antibiotics such as sulfonamides or trimethoprim/sulfonamide combinations, benzylpenicillin, cefquinome, fluphenazine, enrofloxacin, and sodium ceftriaxone cause detrimental effects on horses' health, namely, diarrhea, colitis, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, dysrhythmia, arthropathy, ataxia, anorexia, seizures, peripheral neuropathy, and certain neurologic abnormalities. Therefore, in equine practice, it is essential to optimize and analyze the combinations, formulations, route of administration, and dosages of certain antibiotics before administration. This review overviews the mode of actions and pharmacologic attributes of certain antibiotics, commonly used toward the treatment of disparate horse diseases. Most importantly, special emphasis was given to spotlight the potential adverse effects encountered during the administration of antibiotics as therapeutics in horses. (c) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The emergence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has encouraged researchers to develop auspicious antitubercular drugs. Novel antitubercular drugs can be developed by identifying diversiform targets in M. tuberculosis. Metabolic processes such as cell wall synthesis, amino acid synthesis, cofactor biosynthesis, mycothiol synthesis, DNA synthesis, and ATP synthesis have been identified as promising targets in M. tuberculosis for developing tuberculosis (TB) drugs. Computational approaches such as molecular modeling and docking strategies have shown tremendous efficacy of the disparate ideal ligands against the selected receptors of M. tuberculosis. Additionally, several TB databases are available that help to identify auspicious ligands for assessing preclinical as well as clinical trials toward antitubercular drug discovery. This chapter not only sheds light on the key targets investigated so far in M. tuberculosis, but also analyzes the prominent role of computational tools toward designing and developing efficacious drugs for TB treatment over the next few decades. Computational approaches and unique databases may help in investigating novel cost-effective antitubercular drugs in a short period and may initiate unique antitubercular strategies.

Ngari is a traditional-fermented fish food product of northeast India from which distinct bacteria were initially isolated and assessed for their antagonistic activities against wide spectrum of foodborne and enteric infection-causing pathogens. Among them, Staphylococcus saprophyticus strain AAS1 showed strong inhibitory activity against all the indicator pathogens, ranging from 81.14 +/- 2.4 to 340.18 +/- 2.1 AU/mL. In vitro techno-functional properties of strain AAS1 were further evaluated and confirmed by using standard methodologies. The AASI strain exhibited high tolerance at higher acidic conditions, simulated gastric juice of pH 2.0, and oxgall (0.5%, w/v). Furthermore, this strain showed noticeable hydrophobicity and auto-aggregation traits of 64.2 +/- 1.3 and 44.3 +/- 1.5%, respectively. The isolate depicted not only resistance to phenol and lysozyme but also exhibited 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl degradation (16.6 +/- 1.2-67.5 +/- 1.1%), hydrogen peroxide tolerance (2.1 +/- 0.04-1.1 +/- 0.04), and hydroxyl radical scavenging (10.6 +/- 1.2-57.5 +/- 1.1%) properties. Strain AAS1 fermented varied carbohydrates and produced exopolysaccharide and lipase. The isolate exhibited significant rate of autolysis (48.6 +/- 1.2%), catalase activity (18.14 +/- 0.3 AU), and nitrate reductase production (26.32 +/- 0.8 mM nitrite/mg dry weight). It has also showed negative results toward in vitro hemolytic, DNase, gelatinase, and biofilm formation tests, in addition to being susceptible to conventional antibiotics used. In a nutshell, strain AAS1 may be employed as quintessential candidate for its disparate applications in food and pharmaceutical industries if its probiotic function can be validated.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is considered as wonder drug of the medicinal world due to its multifunctional beneficial aspect. Garlic constitutes at least 33 sulphur containing compounds, several enzymes, amino acids, and minerals. Over the past few years, garlic has been utilized as potential feed supplement in order to improve the growth performances and other biochemical properties of broiler chicken. The supplementation of garlic in basal diet has significantly increased the body weight gain and feed conversion ratio of broilers. Previous studies have suggested the pivotal role of garlic as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoter in poultry industries. This review overviews the studies investigated in the recent years for improving the growth performances and other important parameters of poultry.

The present study was investigated to purify and characterize anti-tubercular and anticancer protein from Staphylococcus hominis strain MANF2 under mild stress condition of Mentha piperita L. Initially, the in vitro anti-tubercular activity of strain MANF2 was determined against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv using luciferase reporter phage (LRP) assay which showed relative light unit reduction (RLU) of >90 %. Further, MTT test revealed promising in vitro anticancer trait of strain MANF2 against lung (A549) and colon (HT-29) cancer cell lines. Mild stress of M. piperita L. was provided to strain MANF2 at lag and log phase of its growth and the protein production was optimized statistically using central composite design of response surface methodology. Results showed enhanced protein production in the medium containing yeast extract (0.5 % w/v) and glycerol (1.5 % v/v), being supplemented with M. piperita L. (1.5 % v/v at log phase of strain MANF2. Protein was purified using standard purification techniques and showed single homogeneous band on SDS-PAGE with nominal molecular mass of 51293 Da, as confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS/MS. The N- amino acid sequencing showed homology with proline dehydrogenase (ProDH), thus, the protein was proposed to be new ProDH-like protein in S. hominis. Further, LRP test revealed concentration dependent (10-50 mu g/mL) in vitro anti-tubercular properties of purified protein with significant RLU reductions of 36.8 +/- 0.3-78.5 +/- 0.4 %. The IC50 values of purified protein against A549 and HT-29 cancer cells were calculated as 42.2 and 48.4 mu g/mL, respectively. In conclusion, protein purified from strain MANF2 under mild stress of M. piperita L can certainly be implied as efficacious anti-tubercular and anticancer agents in future. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Methane (CH4) emission from nonruminant livestock, particularly equines, is a colossal burden for veterinarians worldwide. In view of this, the present context was investigated to predict the antimethanogenic attributes of Moringa oleifera L. associated phytocomponents by targeting methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) receptor in horses using in silico tools. Initially, the pharmacokinetics and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) properties of 26 phytocomponents were analyzed using Lipinski's rule of five and Swiss ADME tool, respectively. Among all the tested phytocomponents, 3,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-phenol, Kaempferol, Moringyne, Niazimisin, and Tetradecanoic acid showed drug-likeness traits with no violation. The molecular docking analysis of selected phytocomponents against MCR receptor was carried out using Hex 8.0.0 docking software. Results estimated the highest binding energy of Tetradecanoic acid against MCR receptor with maximum docking E-value of -142.98 KJ/mol, followed by Niazimisin (-133.98 KJ/mol), Kaempferol (-110.36 KJ/mol), 3,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-phenol (-93.72 KJ/mol), and Moringyne (-92.62 KJ/mol). In conclusion, Tetradecanoic acid can be utilized as a pronounced antimethanogenic agent in order to develop efficacious CH4 mitigating drugs by inhibiting the methanogenesis mechanism. Most importantly, this in silico outcomes can certainly reduce the cost of in vivo studies strategy toward the development of antimethanogenic drugs for horses in the future. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The present context was investigated to purify and characterize anti-tubercular as well as anticancer protein from fermented food associated Staphylococcus hominis strain MANF2. Initially, the anti-tubercular potency of strain MANF2 was assessed against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv using luciferase reporter phase assay which revealed pronounced relative light unit (RLU) reduction of 92.5 +/- 1.2%. The anticancer property of strain MANF2 was demonstrated against lung cancer (A549) and colon cancer (HT-29) cell lines using MIT assay which showed reduced viabilities. Anti-tubercular activities of the purified protein were observed to be increased significantly (P < 0.05) ranging from 34.6 +/- 0.3 to 71.4 +/- 0.4% of RLU reduction. Likewise, the purified protein showed significantly (P < 0.05) reduced viabilities of A549 and HT-29 cancer cells with IC50 values of 46.6 and 48.9 tig/mL, respectively. The nominal mass of the purified protein was found to be 7712.3 Da as obtained from MALDI-TOF MS/MS spectrum. The protein showed the sequence homology with 1-336 amino acids of Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Staphylococcus sp., thus, categorizing as a new class of Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase-like protein. The amino acid sequence of the most abundant peptide (m/z = 1922.12) in the purified protein was obtained as 'KAIGLVIPEIDGKLDGGAQRV' and it was identified as peptide NMANF2. In silico tools predicted significant stereo-chemical, physiochemical, and functional characteristics of peptide NMANF2. In a nutshell, protein purified from strain MANF2 can certainly be used as an ideal therapeutic agent against tuberculosis and cancer (lung and colon). (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.

The present investigation was assessed to predict the anti-tubercular and anticancer attributes of bacterial peptide SMANF2 using in silico docking tool. Initially, the structure of peptide SMANF2 was modelled and its stereo-chemical, physiochemical, and functional parameters were determined using various computational tools. Further, in silico molecular docking between peptide and targeted proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and cancer cells (lung cancer - A540 cell line; colon cancer - HT-29 cell line) were predicted using Hex 8.0.0 docking software. Results predicted good stereo-chemical, physiochemical, and functional features of peptide SMANF2. The peptide exhibited the highest negative energy value (E-value) of -747.99 kJ/mol with LysA, followed by -735.43, -631.07, -549.28, and -285.06 kJ/mol with ribonucleotide reductase, alanine racemase, DNA gyrase, and isocitrate lyase, respectively of M. tuberculosis. Among targeted proteins of A540 cell line, peptide SMANF2 revealed the highest docking score of -539.12 kJ/mol with Bcl-2. On the other hand, the peptide showed highest negative E-value of -422.70 kJ/mol with Bcl-xL among targeted HT-29 cell line. In a nutshell, this in silico study predicted the anti-tubercular and anticancer traits of peptide SMANF2 that can be used as auspicious therapeutic agent in future.