Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic Activity of Eucalyptus torquata Luehm. and Eucalyptus salmonophloia F. Muell. Trunk Bark Essential Oils against Human SW620 and MDA-MB-231 Cancer Cell Lines

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the screening of natural active ingredients from Eucalyptus essential oils because of their evident importance in practical utility and their undeniable therapeutic properties. Based on this, the aim of the present study was to investigate the chemical profile of the essential oils of the trunk bark of Eucalyptus torquata Luehm. (ETEO), and E. salmonophloia F. Muell. (ESEO), growing in Tunisia. The in vitro cytotoxic properties of the extracted EOs were also evaluated against two human cancer cell lines: breast carcinoma cell lines MDA-MB-231 and colorectal cancer cell lines SW620. The analysis by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) led to the identification of 32 compounds from the ETEO, with the dominant constituents being the monoterpenes trans-myrtanol (73.4 %) and myrtenol (4.7 %), and the apocarotene (E)-β-ionone (3.9 %). In the case of ESEO, 29 compounds were identified with trans-myrtanol (25.0 %), decanoic acid (22.1 %), nonanoic acid (9.8 %), γ-elemene (6.5 %), γ-maaliene (5.5 %), and α-terpineol (5.3 %) as the main components. The cytotoxicity of EOs against the two chosen cell lines was tested using Crystal Violet Staining (CVS) assay and 5-fluorouracil as a reference drug. The two EOs exhibited a significant dose-dependent inhibition against the viability of the used cell lines. Their inhibitory effects were particularly observed towards SW620 colon carcinoma cells with IC₅₀ values of 26.71±1.22 and 22.21±0.85 μg/mL, respectively, indicating that both oils were more cytotoxic for SW620 cells compared to MDA-MB-231 one.     

Cd-induced growth reduction in the halophyte <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sesuvium portulacastrum</Emphasis> is significantly improved by NaCl

The effects of Cd²⁺ and NaCl, applied together or separately, on growth and uptake of Cd²⁺ were determined for the halophyte Sesuvium portulacastrum L. Seedlings were cultivated in the presence of 50 or 100 μmol L⁻¹ Cd²⁺ alone or combined with 100 or 400 mmol L⁻¹ NaCl. Data showed that alone, Cd²⁺ induced chlorosis, necrosis, and inhibited growth. Addition of NaCl to Cd²⁺-containing medium restored growth and alleviated the toxicity, however. NaCl also enhanced the amounts of Cd²⁺ accumulated in the shoots. All Cd²⁺ treatment reduced K⁺ and Ca²⁺ uptake and transport to the shoots. Accumulation of Na⁺ in the shoots was not affected by Cd²⁺, however. Thus S. portulacastrum maintained its halophytic characteristics in the presence of Cd²⁺. We suggest this halophyte could be used for phytoextraction of Cd²⁺ from salt-contaminated sites.     

Preparation of an immobilized–stabilized catalase derivative from Aspergillus niger having its multimeric structure stabilized: The effect of Zn on enzyme stability

Multimeric catalase from Aspergillus niger was immobilized on CNBr activated agarose, increasing the enzyme stability. However, it was found that some enzyme subunits could be desorbed to the supernatant after boiling the enzyme preparation in the presence of SDS or during thermal inactivation. Moreover, a positive enzyme concentration-enzyme stability correlation was detected in the immobilized preparation. This suggested the existence of some dissociation mechanism as a first step in the enzyme inactivation. The treatment of the immobilized enzyme with aldehyde–dextran permitted to fully stabilize its multimeric structure, but even this preparation exhibited an enzyme concentration-stability correlation. The presence of EDTA reduced the enzyme stability, suggesting that some cation could be involved in enzyme stability. It was found that 10 mM Zn²⁺ increased the enzyme stability of this immobilized–stabilized preparation. Now, the dilution of the biocatalyst did not produce a reduction in the enzyme stability.Thus, we have prepared an immobilized enzyme that does not release any subunit to the medium even after inactivation, and found that Zn²⁺ has a very positive effect on the stability of this immobilized–stabilized enzyme.     

Simultaneous determination of Fe(III) and Al(III) by first-derivative spectrophotometry and partial least-squares (PLS-2) method – Application to post-haemodialysis fluids

Derivative spectrophotometry (graphical method) and partial least-squares regression (numerical method) methods were developed for the spectrophotometric multi-component analysis of post-haemodialysis fluids and synthetic mixtures containing Al(III) and Fe(III) without any chemical separation. The complexes of these metal ions with chrome azurol S were formed immediately at pH 5.5 and were stable for at least 3h. The graphical method is based on the use of first-derivative spectra for evaluation because working wavelength determination was more precise and spectral overlap was less than in the ordinary spectra. Two wavelengths at which the complexes exhibited maximum absorption values for Fe(III) and Al(III) were selected as analytical wavelengths, i.e., 675 and 623.5nm, respectively. Lambert-Beer's law is obeyed between 0.0896-8.064mug/mL Fe(III) and 0.054-0.486mug/mL Al(III). Limits of detection for Fe(III) and Al(III) were 0.056 and 0.044mug/mL, respectively. The reproducibility, expressed as variation coefficients, for two sets of 10 standard mixtures containing 3.584mug/mL Fe(III) and 0.27mug/mL Al(III) were 1.9% and 2% for iron and aluminium, respectively. In the numerical method, a training set was randomly prepared by using 14 samples. The concentration of each component has been varied in the linear range of the analytical signal. The spectral regions between 510 and 720nm were selected for the analysis of the binary mixture of Fe(III)/Al(III). The proposed methods were validated by using synthetic binary mixtures and applied to the simultaneous determination of Fe(III) and Al(III) in post-haemodialysis samples. The obtained results were compared with each other; in general, both multi-component methods gave rise to similar recovery results for laboratory-prepared mixtures and real samples.