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AbstractIn this study, phytochemical and pharmacological screening of the aerial part and roots extracts fromDoronicum orientaleHoffm. (Asteraceae) was carried out. Plant extracts were obtained using solvents of different polarity (hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol, ethanol/water, water) for selection the most optimal solvent for the extraction of active compounds. For instance, the extracts yielded total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the range of 12.13–45.67 mg GAE/g and 0.75–12.44 mg QE/g, respectively, while the total antioxidant capacity of the extracts determined by the phosphomolybdenum assay ranged from 0.88–2.53 mmol TE/g. HPLC/MS/MS analysis revealed 5‐caffeoylquinic acid (2.52–337.05 μg/g) and 3,5‐dicaffeoylquinic acid (3.12–299.36 μg/g) to be the major components present in the investigated extracts. Antioxidant activity in terms of radical scavenging ability of the extracts ranged from 0.82–45.56 mg TE/g in DPPH assay and from 5.07–104.58 mg TE/g in ABTS assay. The tested extracts were found to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (aerial part: 0.50–2.33 mg GALAE/g; roots: 0.40–2.43 mg GALAE/g), while with the exception of the water extracts, the other extracts showed butyrylcholinesterase inhibition (aerial part: 2.46–5.02 mg GALAE/g; root: 2.93–4.17 mg GALAE/g). Overall, this study presented an interesting scope of this species in phytomedicine with preliminary data demonstrating some of the tested extracts to possess high bioactive contents, antioxidant potential and enzyme inhibitory activity. Thus, additional investigations are necessary to confirm their safety in herbal drug applications.

This work proposes an alternative green and selective biocatalytic route for Glycerin Monostearate (α-monostearin) production. The conventional method of production uses an elevated temperature. Apart from the high energy consumption, such high temperatures darken the final product's color, lead to random reactions, and produce high orders of diglycerides and triglycerides instead of monoglycerides. The proposed production process was performed by esterifying stearic acid with glycerin in an organic medium using Candida antarctica lipase (Novozym 435) at a mild temperature. The reaction conditions were optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM): optimum conditions were a temperature of 60 °C, glycerin to stearic acid molar ratio of 8:1, and Novozym 435 amount of 6% w/w. The solvent addition remarkably improved the α-monostearin yield to nearly 80% without the need for the energy-intensive distillation step. The conventional autocatalytic esterification (AUT) process was also performed to investigate the comparative monoglyceride yield, and it was found to be 22.5%. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance and gas-chromatography confirmed that α-monostearin could be produced with the highest purity using the proposed enzymatic method (ENZ). Economic and environmental analyses were also conducted for the proposed ENZ process, and the results were compared with those of the AUT process. The total capital investment of α-monostearin production, considering a projected capacity of 4950 t year−1 and 11% interest for the proposed ENZ process, was favorably 2.5 times lower than that of the AUT process, suggesting a promising investment opportunity. However, the total production costs showed unfavorable negative net present value (NPV) and return on investment (ROI) for the ENZ process and favorable positive NPV and ROI for the AUT process, indicating that the proposed venture is not profitable for α-monostearin production. However, the process can be profitable at improved operational stability of Novozym 435 up to 1 kg per 3-ton product. The carbon footprint was calculated on the basis of the given capacity and conditions of 50 and 656 t CO2 eq./year for the ENZ and AUT processes, respectively. The synthesis of α-monostearin using the proposed route can be considered a building block toward a cleaner large-scale production of α-monoglycerides.

Abstract Drought stress is a major factor limiting wheat production in rain-fed areas around the world. Wheat tolerance to drought stress may be enhanced through genotypic selection, but recently, there has been interest in manipulating wheat-microbial interactions to promote drought tolerance. The prime objective of the study was to examine the effects of inoculation with 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC)-deaminase containing (ACC+) bacteria on different winter wheat genotypes (grown in 1 m tall × 10 cm diameter tubes) under water-stressed and well-watered conditions as determined by root length, above- and below-ground biomass, and leaf relative water content. The results of the present study revealed that under water stress, inoculation with ACC+ bacteria increased leaf relative water content (RWC) for genotypes RonL and OK06318 by 22%, compared with non-inoculated controls. Under water stress, length of roots with a diameter class of 0.75–1 mm increased by 129% in response to ACC+ bacteria in the deepest tube section (67–99 cm depth increment). Under well-watered conditions, inoculation increased above-ground biomass for RonL and TAM112 by 37% and 32%, respectively, as compared to non-inoculated controls. Inoculation also increased RonL root biomass by 150% in the deepest tube section, and increased the length of roots with a diameter class of 0.50–0.75 mm in the deepest tube section for TAM112 by 40%. The results further showed that, irrespective of irrigation regime, the genotype RonL appears to be a good plant model to study wheat interactions with ACC+ bacteria. Collectively, the results of the present study revealed that the growth response of winter wheat to inoculation with ACC+ bacteria was genotype dependent. The variation among wheat genotypes in their response to ACC+ bacteria might lead to innovative selection strategies for improved water stress tolerance.