Drying Kinetics and Fungal Infection in Red and Yellow Onions (Allium cepa): A Simulation Approach | Chapter 4 | New Horizons of Science, Technology and Culture Vol. 6

 

In the Philippines, red and yellow onions are frequently cultivated. The country’s advantageous climate and soil traits create an optimal setting for growing these onion types. The elevated moisture levels in onions render them vulnerable to fungal growth, especially Aspergillus niger, leading to spoilage and economic losses in agriculture. Drying is a method used to prolong the shelf life of onions by decreasing moisture content and water activity. Dehydrating onions to a moisture content (MC) of 5% prevents the proliferation of microorganisms and ultimately extends their shelf life. This study aims to determine the ideal drying temperature and minimum duration for onions to reach 5% moisture content by assessing the least energy usage. Three mathematical models—Laplace Transform Model, Page Model, and Non-linear Decomposition Model—were analysed to characterise the drying behaviour of thinly cut red and yellow onions at temperatures of 50, 60, and 70°C, utilising a tray dryer with 20% relative humidity and an air velocity of 2 m/s. The Page model provided the optimal fit for red and yellow onions with the smallest overall error. The optimum drying temperature was observed at 70°C for both red and yellow onions, which was efficient in producing quality onions without any fungal growth at the shortest drying time of 25.6 and 24.74 minutes, respectively. The power requirement calculated at 70°C was 154.18 W for red onions and 148.07 W for yellow onions.  These results may serve as a basis for developing efficient drying protocols in red and yellow onion processing industries.

 

 

Author(s) Details

 

Lola Domnina Pestaño
Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines and Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines.

 

Megan Krisanta E. Gaspar
Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines and Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines.

 

Aereous Francesca D. Quizon
Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines and Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines.

 

Rhodelie Anne L. Sandoval
Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines and Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nhstc/v6/6622

Exploring Synergistic Effects of Natural Antifungals and Metal Ferrocyanides for Enhanced Medicinal Applications | Chapter 5 | Chemistry and Biochemistry: Research Progress Vol. 1

Natural products are one of the most consistently successful sources of drug leads. In recent decades, research activity into the clinical potential of this class of compounds in disease has increased. Metal complexes offer unique opportunities due to their ability to alter pharmacology, improving efficacy and reducing the negative side effects of drug molecules. The presented book chapter aimed to report the synergistic effects of antifungal activity of medicinal plants with metal hexacyanoferrate (II) complexes against various fungal infections. Manganese, Silver and Titanium ferrocyanides were synthesized and characterized by elemental and spectral studies. The stabilities of these metal ferrocyanides were investigated in the presence of acids, bases, organic solvents, and tap and seawater in the room and at boiling temperature. The natural antifungal plants studied were Azadirachta indica (Neem), Ocimum sanctum (tulsi), Cassia obtusifolia (money bush), Cassia alata (canicro bush), Tagetes patula (marigold). The natural antifungal plant extract with metal ferrocyanides complexes was found to have more antifungal properties in comparison to metal ferrocyanides and natural antifungals alone. Antifungal activity of natural antifungals, metal hexacyanoferrate (II) compound and natural antifungal metal ferrocyanide complexes were tested by a well-known cultured fungus (Aspergillus niger). The titanium ferrocyanide with neem extract and manganese ferrocyanide with money bush extract complexes were found to have maximum and minimum antifungal property, respectively. In conclusion, the antifungal activity of secondary metabolites is enhanced through interactions with metal ferrocyanides and metal ferrocyanides – natural products complexes may serve as an effective treatment for skin infections, warranting further investigation into its medicinal potential.

 

Author (s) Details

Brij Bhushan Tewari
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Guyana, P. O. Box: 101110, Georgetown, Guyana.

 

Sharlene Roberts
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Guyana, P. O. Box: 101110, Georgetown, Guyana.

 

Ashish Kumar Tiwari
Advanced Center for Material Science, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur- 206016, Uttar Pradesh, India.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/cbrp/v1/3395

Optimization of Modified Media & Comparative Production of Citric Acid by Aspergillus niger | Chapter 8 |Innovations in Microbiology and Biotechnology Vol.4

 Aspergillus niger was used for submerged citric acid synthesis to study high yield citric acid producers other than citrus fruits. In a comparison investigation, rice and potato extracts were employed as substrates to see which one provided the best yield. Various doses of Sucrose, Glucose, and Nitrogen supplements were used to track changes in citric acid synthesis output. Titration of citric acid extracted from various medium was used to assess the concentration of citric acid produced. To establish the ideal conditions for enhanced citric acid production output, a comparison study was done. By collecting soil samples from the Garden of Dayanand Science College in Latur, Maharashtra, and isolating citric acid-producing fungi (Aspergillus niger) on PDA medium as pure culture, as well as cultivation on modified broth medium, this study can provide a better approach for large-scale industrial production of citric acid, which is one of the most widely consumed organic acids.

Author(s) Details:

Sharad Chandrakant Gangavane,
Department of Biotechnology, College of Computer Science & Information Technology (COCSIT) Latur, SRTM University, Nanded, Maharashtra, India.


Vijay Jagdish Upadhye,
Department of Microbiology, Parul Institute of Applied Sciences (PIAS), Parul University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.


Babasaheb Shivmurti Surwase,
Department of Botany, School of Life Sciences ,SRTM University, Nanded, Maharashtra, India.


Amol Bapurao Khandagale,
Department of Biotechnology, Dayanand Science College, (DSCL) Latur, SRTM University, Nanded, Maharashtra, India.


Vaishnavi Laxmanrao More,
Department of Biotechnology, College of Computer Science & Information Technology (COCSIT) Latur, SRTM University, Nanded, Maharashtra, India.


Shabana Habib Shaikh,
Department of Biotechnology, College of Computer Science & Information Technology (COCSIT) Latur, SRTM University, Nanded, Maharashtra, India.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/IMB-V4/article/view/6228

Single Step Aqueous Two-Phase System (ATPS), for Purification of Glucose Oxidase (GOx) | Chapter 11 | Recent Research Advances in Biology Vol. 4

 Glucose oxidase is an intracellular and extracellular enzyme of the genus Aspergillus and Penicillium, developed on an industrial scale. The purpose of this research was to study the isolation of Aspergillus niger glucose oxidase (GOx) in an aqueous two-phase system consisting of PEG 7500 (150 g l-1), potassium phosphate (175 g l-1, K2HPO4 +KH2PO4) and glucose (10 gl-1), divided into polymer phase enzymes. GOx (69.2 percent) was recovered by sequential extraction by 11.8 fold purification in the polymer process, giving a yield of 129U mg protein-1.

Author(s) Details

Dr. Jagdish Singh
Department of Biotechnology, Mata Gujri College Sri Fatehgarh Sahib - 140406 Punjab, India.

Ms. Surbhi Goyal

Department of Biotechnology, Mata Gujri College Sri Fatehgarh Sahib - 140406 Punjab, India.

View Book :- https://bp.bookpi.org/index.php/bpi/catalog/book/353

Purification and Characterization of Cellulase from Aspergillus niger | Chapter 11 | Recent Progress in Microbiology and Biotechnology Vol. 3

 Microbial enzyme is an important biological substance or biological molecules that are tested by living organisms that act as biocatalyst to bring out a specific biochemical reaction. Enzymes are biochemical catalysts that carry out chemical reaction to speed up the biological. Chemical activity inside or outside the cell. These are referred as “Biocatalyst”. An extracellular cellulose producing Aspergillus niger isolated from the forest soil of Courtalam Taluk, Tirunelveli District. Based on the biochemical test and 18S rRNA gene sequencing the isolate was identified as Aspergillus sp. The purification of cellulase by Aspergillus niger was carried out by DEAE cellulose and sephadox G-100.

Author (s) Details

S. Karthikeyan
Department of Botany and Microbiology, The Madura College, Madurai, India.

V. Meenakshi Sundaram
Department of Botany and Microbiology, The Madura College, Madurai, India.

S. Palpperumal
Department of Botany, Saraswathi Narayanan College, Madurai, India.

D. Kathiresan
Department of Botany, Saraswathi Narayanan College, Madurai, India.

S. Sankaralingam
Department of Botany, Saraswathi Narayanan College, Madurai, India.

B. Harinathan
Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, NMSSVN College, Madurai, India.

View Book :- https://bp.bookpi.org/index.php/bpi/catalog/book/289