Research Journal of Chemistry and Environment

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Vol. 23(11) November 2019

Biosorption of Fe (II) by Scenedesmus sp. in batch and continuous systems

Devi Anuradha, Gupta Rajiv, Singhal Anupam and Verma Sanjay Kumar

Page No. 1-10

The waste generated by metal pickling industries is identiﬁed as hazardous solid waste as per Indian Standards and United State Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Biosorption is an environment friendly treatment method for domestic and industrial effluent. This study attempts to develop the knowledge on metal sorption onto Scenedesmus sp. by studying Fe biosorption onto the cited biomass by both batch and fixed bed systems. The effects of various physicochemical factors of Fe (II) biosorption such as pH 2.0–7.0, initial metal concentration 0.0–500 mg/L and contact time 0–180 mins were studied. In the light of the experimental results obtained and their evaluation, the microalgae could be considered a potential adsorbent for the removal of iron from aqueous solutions.

FTIR analysis of the biosorbent, before and after iron sorption, shows that amine and hydroxyl groups could be involved in metal binding to the algal biomass. Experimental data can be described adequately by the pseudo-second-order kinetic confirming the chemisorption of iron on algal surface. Continuous biosorption studies reveal that microalgae (Scenedesmus sp.) could be successfully used as biosorbent for treating effluents containing Fe (II).

Targeting Apoptosis by inhibiting cMET amplification due to EGFR Resistance using Benzofuran Derivatives

Sreelakshmi M., Jojiya Grace George, Rohan Mishra and Aneesh T.P.

Page No. 11-18

Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) targeted agents such as gefitinib, erlotinib, imatinib, bevacizumab, trastuzumab inhibitors have depicted the benefit of targeting this protein class for the treatment of selected cancers. cMET, a unique member of RTK family is an important target for cancer therapy considering its over expression and gene amplification. The resistance developed to EGFR due to some mutations leads to an increase in gene copy number of cMET receptors and thus increasing its amplification from 4% to 20%. This cMET amplification due to resistance in EGFR makes TKIs ineffective to treat various cancer. Here we developed some benzofuran derivatives targeting cMET receptor in case of cancer growth and progression using insilico docking method. Structure activity relationship of benzofuran reveals that the monosubstitution of hydroxyl(-OH), methoxy (-OCH3) or halogen groups at 3rd,4th,5th or 6thpositions and also substitution of benzoyl group at the second position contribute to an elevation in the puissance of inhibiting the oncogenic dominant receptors. The c-MET receptor with PDB 4GG5 was docked with benzofuran derivatives designed to deliver eight analogues with potent activity on comparison with the reference drugs. ADMET study was performed to simulate the pharmacokinetic behaviour of the analogues via the ADMET plot generated. The eight selected analogues showed good solubility, high penetration through BBB, no hepatotoxicity and plasma protein binding. By further confirmation with in vitro and in vivo studies, these derivatives can be used as effective agents against various selected cancers.

Virtual Screening of Apigenin Derivative Compounds acting as Antioxidant using Molecular Docking Method

Mulatsari Esti, Mumpuni Esti, Martati Titiek and Wijaya Frans

Page No. 19-26

Free radicals are a group of chemical compounds that can trigger occurrence of degenerative diseases dan required antioxidants to counter it. The examples of antioxidants compounds are vitamin C, vitamin E and flavonoids like apigenin with IC50 values of 463,4 μg/ml. The purpose of this study was to find alternative antioxidants that may have better activity than the existing antioxidants using the molecular docking method using target receptors with 1QQW, 1V4S, 2BEL, 2C9V, 4K7O and 5M2F PDB codes that met the requirements of RMSD values less than 2 Ǻ and using vitamin C, vitamin E, quercetin and apigenin as comparable compounds that have been tested to have antioxidant activity.

Of the 30 apigenin derived compounds used with an IC50 value below 100 μg/mL, one of the best compounds of each receptor with the lowest ChemPLP values was 3,3’-diisopropoxy apigenin (1QQW); 3’-amine apigenin(1V4S); 3’,6-diamine apigenin (1XAN); 3’,6-diamine apigenin (2BEL); 3’-amine apigenin (2C9V); 3’-amine apigenin (4K7O) and dan 3’6-dipropyl apigenin (5M2F). The results obtained showed that there are apigenin derived compounds that are selective against receptors used.

Electrochemical and biological studies of newly synthesized metal complexes containing imidazole derivatives

Boomadevi Janaki G. and Joseph Raj Xavier

Page No. 27-36

The condensation of acetoacetanilide results in the synthesis of novel metal complexes of imidazole-2-carboxaldehyde. The synthesized metal complexes were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR), Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and Electrochemical techniques. It was shown that the distorted square planar geometry was proposed for all the complexes and ligands. Monomeric and neutral natures of the complexes were evidenced by the measurement of molar conductivity and magnetic susceptibility. Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) measurements were done to analyze the electrochemical behavior of the complexes dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) solvent at 298 K.

Furthermore, DNA binding properties were subject to electronic absorption and electrochemical methods and compared with classical intercalators. Antimicrobial studies were carried out for all the complexes. It was shown that the complexes possess slightly higher antimicrobial behavior than that of ligand. Analysis of DNA binding interaction studies showed that the metal complexes displayed stronger binding affinity to DNA via intercalation mode.

Antibacterial constituents from Morus macroura

Jasmansyah, Hakim Euis H. and Syah Yana M.

Page No. 37-40

Morus macroura Miq. is the only Morus plant species found in West Sumatera of Indonesia. Our previous phytochemical studies have isolated two stilbene dimers from the woods and root trunks of the plant. In this study we report six phenolic compounds, namely methyl 2,4-dihydroxy-3,6-dimethylbenzoate (1), norarto-carpanone (2), moracins M (3) and B (4), mulberroside C (5) and mulberrofuran K (6) from the tree barks of this plant. Structures of these compounds were determined based on NMR and mass spectral data. On antibacterial evaluation, compound 7 showed significant antibacterials against gram-(+) bacteria Bacilus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus.

Preliminary phytochemical screening of a medicinally important cucurbit Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schard.

Ramakrishna D., Suvarchala V., Chaitanya G. and Shasthree T.

Page No. 41-55

Citrullus colocynthis is an important medicinal cucurbit belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae. The present work was carried out to investigate the preliminary phytochemical screening of Citrullus colocynthis to evaluate the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, phenols using different parts of plant extracts such as leaf, stem, root, tendrils, fruit pulp, fruit peel and seeds by using cold maceration technique with methanol, butanol, chloroform, ethanol and hexane solvents. As the result, alkaloids were found to be present in all plant parts extracts. In leaf extracts, flavonoids were strongly observed in butanol solvent and glycosides were observed in chloroform extract.

According to our analysis, quinones, saponins, fats and oils were absent in leaf extract. In stem extracts, butanol and methanol are more efficient solvents for alkaloids and glycosides were strongly present in ethanol and methanol solvent extracts whereas tannins resulted very less. In tendril extracts, glycosides were observed efficiently in butanol and methanol solvents. The root extracts revealed the strong presence of steroids in all solvents and tannins were totally absent. The results of fruit peel expressed the presence of glycosides and steroids strongly in methanol and ethanol extracts. However, the presence of tannins was very low in fruit peel extracts. The butane, ethanol, methonal solvent extractions showed the presence of flavonoids and steroids. Glycosides were observed strongly in butanol and methanol solvents in seed extract.

Biochemical characterization of α-amylase from Bacillus cereus MTCC 10202 and its potential application in fabric desizing

Kalaiarasi K. and Parvatham R.

Page No. 56-64

α-amylase was produced from Bacillus cereus MTCC 10202 isolated from sago factory effluent discharged soil under solid state fermentation. Studies on crude α-amylase characterization revealed that the enzyme exhibited maximum activity at pH 10 and 50°C. The enzyme retained 92.3 per cent of its initial activity after 3h at pH 10. It exhibited 95% stability at 50°C for 3h. The major end products of raw starch were glucose, maltose and small oligosaccharides indicating that the enzyme was α-amylase.

The enzyme showed noticeable increase in activity in presence of calcium chloride. Its application was tested in textile processing for desizing of cotton fabric. Weight loss was found to be higher in bacterial amylase treated fabric when compared to conventional method. The results indicated the possible use of amylase from Bacillus cereus in textile processing.

Bioactive oligostilbenoids from Shorea leprosula Miq.

Aisyah Salihah Kamarozaman, Norizan Ahmat, Fatin Nur Syahirah Mohamad Sharif, Nurul Atikah Azmi, Muhammad Sulaiman Mohd Johari, Zetty Zulikha Hafiz, Mohd Ilham Adenan and Nik Fatini Nik Azmin

Page No. 65-69

The phytochemical study on the stem bark of Shorea leprosula has successfully purified three oligostilbenoids characterized as hopeaphenol (1) (31.6 mg), isohopeaphenol (2) (2.9 mg) and laevifonol (3) (8.6 mg). The isolates were tested on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory and DPPH radical scavenging activities. Hopeaphenol (1) displayed pronounced inhibition against AChE and DPPH radical with the IC50 values of 10.00 μM and 7.02 μM respectively. Meanwhile, laevifonol (3) exhibited weak activity against AChE with the IC50 value of >20 μM.

Early seedling growth responses and anatomical variations in Ganga Safed-2 maize genotype under chromium and water deficit stress

Hirve Mamta and Jain Meeta

Page No. 70-79

Exposure of plants to more than one stress conditions is very common in natural environment. Combination of heavy metals and water deficit stress is one of them. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of heavy metal chromium (Cr), polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 induced water deficit and combination of both on growth and anatomical characteristics of maize (Zea mays L. cv. Ganga safed-2) seedlings. A significant reduction in root length, shoot length, root and shoot fresh and dry weights, seed vigor and tolerance index was observed with the supply of 0-300 µM Cr. Treatment of maize seeds with 0-20% PEG significantly reduced all the growth parameters with the effect being highest for shoot length, seed vigor and shoot fresh and dry weight at maximum PEG level.

Cr treatment caused thickening of cortex and pith region with dark deposits in epiblema and pith, reduction in number of metaxylem vessels as well as increase in root hair numbers at low concentrations and root hair damage at highest Cr concentration in both individual and combined treatments. PEG 6000 treatment increased the number of root hairs, reduced cortex and pith area with decrease in number of metaxylem vessels. Irregular shape and arrangement of cells in epiblema cell lining and endodermis were other noticeable features in all combinational treatments. Maximum damage response was shown with the supply of combination of 10% PEG+300 µM Cr, representing a cumulative effect of both the stresses.

Formulation and evaluation of effervescent granule of avocado (Persea americana mill.) leaves extract as antioxidant beverage

Nyi Mekar Saptarini and Ginayanti Hadisoebroto

Page No. 80-83

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) leaves are empirically used as antioxidants due to its secondary metabolites. The purpose of this study was to formulate and evaluate avocado leaves extract into effervescent granule as an antioxidant beverage. The formulation was done by various concentrations of citric acid and sucrose. Evaluations were hedonic test and quality tests i.e. moisture content, bulk density, tapped density, flow rate, repose angle, Carr’s index, pH and time to dissolve.

Phytochemical screening showed that avocado leaves contain alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids and polyphenols. The evaluation results showed that all formulas met the requirements of good effervescent granules. Formula 2 with 2% citric acid was the best and most preferred formula.

Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of pyrimidines derived from chalcones

Manohare Sachin V. and Thakare Suresh S.

Page No. 84-88

In present study, 2-acetyl-5-bromothiophene (1) on condensation with various aromatic aldehydes in alcoholic KOH solution yielded corresponding chalcones (3). The chalcones were further reacted with guanidine hydrochloride in presence of base in ethanol which led to the formation of pyrimidine derivatives (4). The newly synthesized heterocycles were characterized on the basis of NMR, IR and Mass spectroscopic data. All newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities.

Effect of Soil Contamination by Some Azo Dyes on the Seed Germination and Plant Growth of Green Gram (Phaseolus aureus)

Rao T.V.R.K., Kumari Chanchal and Kumar Arjun

Page No. 89-95

Azo dyes and pigments are widely used for dyeing and printing in textile industries owing to their good fixative properties and cost affectivity. Azo dyes may enter the soil through the discharge of untreated effluents of dye and textile industries. Soil, contaminated/polluted by the azo dyes, is known to be phytotoxic. Presently, we have studied the effect of soil contamination by some azo dyes at different concentrations, on the seed germination and plant growth of Green gram (Phaseolus aureus). A total of twenty experimental sets (dye-contaminated soil) and one control set (pure soil) were set up. The dyes were thoroughly mixed with the soil so as to obtain a uniform distribution of the dye in the soil.

Results revealed a mild to severe phytotoxicity of the azo dye-contamination of soil on the plants of Green gram. Chemical nature of the azo dye also seemed to rule the level of toxicity. Percentage germination ranged from 20 to 80% in the experimental sets. Percentage germination cum survival of plants at 25 days ranged from 20 to 70% in the experimental sets compared to 100% in the control set. With the increasing concentration of dyes, the germination cum survival of the plants rapidly decreased. In general, all the four dyes exhibited a uniform and comparable toxicity. However, 4-(2’-carboxyphenylazo)salicylate was found to be slightly more toxic. The mechanism behind phytotoxicity of the dyes might be either through complexation/chelation of some nutrient metal ion and resultant inhibition/depletion of its uptake by the plants from soil; or it might be through the extraction of some vital metal ion from the root by the dye, thus depleting the nutrition to the plant.

Three New Diels-Alder Type Adducts from Root Cultures Media of Morus alba var. shalun

Rizki Fitriani, Nizar Happyana and Euis Holisotan Hakim

Page No. 96-102

The isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites from Morus alba var. shalun root cultures media were implemented in this research. Root cultures were grown in liquid MS (Murashige-Skoog) medium with the addition of 1 ppm hormone IBA (indole-3-butiric acid). Root cultures were subcultured for propagation at the ages of 4 or 5 weeks and were harvested at the age of 8 weeks. Three new Diels-Alder type adducts (1-3) named morushalunins A, B, C, together with a known compound, mulberrofuran K (4), were isolated from the EtOAc extract of the liquid medium of the cultures.

The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated based on a comprehensive analysis of spectroscopic data, including 1D, 2D, NMR and MS data. Compounds 1-4 exhibited significant cytotoxicities against murine leukemia P-388 cells with IC50 values of 0.7, 0.8, 2.0 and 0.6 μg/mL respectively. These results demonstrated the potency of compound 1-4 as the lead compounds for anticancer agent.

Nickel hyperaccumulation associated genetic changes in Cataranthus roseus (L.) G. Don

Bhattacharjee Minakshi, Sarma Manash Pratim and Barbhuyan Ruksana

Page No. 103-112

Heavy metals constitute one of the major groups of genotoxic environmental pollutants possessing serious threat to human as well as environmental well-being. The process of hyper accumulation of heavy metal by higher plants is a complex phenomenon. To some extent, hyper accumulator plants overcome environmental pollution by developing efficient and specific physio-biochemical mechanisms. However, an excess of toxic heavy metal ions induces several cellular stress responses and also damages different cellular components including DNA.

The present study reports the changes occurring in random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles of Catharanthus roseus (pink flowers) and Catharanthus roseus (purple flowers) following nickel treatment and caused variation in the band intensity, loss of normal bands and appearance of new bands compared to the normal plants .This result indicated that the genomic DNA was significantly affected by NiCl2.6H2O treatment. The study concludes that Catharanthus roseus has the ability to accumulate nickel and in the process undergoes heavy genetic changes.

Photochemistry of Levofloxacin antibiotics: Direct photodegradation and antimicrobial activity changes

Ahmad Waseem and Shekhawat Bhumika

Page No. 113-118

Molecules possessing suitable chromophores capable of absorbing UV or visible light in the range of 290-700nm may be activated photochemically by UV or visible radiation. Consequently, these photoactivated molecules may alter biological systems and if the exposure is sufficient, it may elicit harmful effects including phototoxicity (e.g. erythema/edema, pigmentary alterations and visual impairment/ocular damage), photoallergy or photocarcinogenicity. Since the entire adverse photo biological effect produced by photosensitizing drugs is the consequences of photochemical reaction, it is important to stimulate chemist to work on photosensitive drugs. The photochemical behavior of photosensitizing drugs under UV light is particularly relevant to understand the in vivo photo biological effect.

Fluoroquinolone are anti-bacterial agents whose pharmacological actions involve inhibition of an enzyme controlling the shape of DNA. The major side effect of these drugs is skin photosensitization as stimulated by the photochemical and photo biological study of large number of fluoroquinolones. With this background the aim of present study was to investigate in more detail the photochemistry of levofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic with special emphasis on effect of UV light on its antimicrobial activity and to gain mechanistic insight into the photo degradation of levofloxacin.

Hierarchically porous structured carbons from Abutilon Indicum Biomass for Superior Performance of Symmetric Aqueous Supercapacitor

Thileep Kumar Kumaresan, Shanmugharaj Andikkadu Masilamani, Kalaivani Raman and Raghu Subashchandrabose

Page No. 119-126

Hierarchically porous structured carbon material is synthesized from Abutilon indicum steams biomass by simple physical and chemical activation method. The activation effects of KOH with different temperature of 800⁰C and 900⁰C are investigated in an inert gas atmosphere. The maximum Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) surface area and total pore volume are achieved as 1064 m2g-1 and 0.788 cm3g-1 at 900⁰C and 986 m2 g-1 and 0.658 cm3g-1 at 800⁰C respectively.

Further, in aqueous supercapacitors applications, the porous carbon electrode material shows a highest specific capacitance of 229 Fg-1 at 1 Ag-1 in 1.2 V, energy density of 19.93 Wh kg-1 and power density of 2738 Wkg-1 with stable cycling performance of 98 % from the initial values to after 15,000 cycles and 99.7% columbic efficiency was obtained. The results reveal that the prepared porous carbon electrode material structure precedes the fast ion transmission, and quick charge transportation, and it would be promising candidate for supercapacitor applications.

Chemotaxonomical significance of laevifonol from Shorea leprosula

Rosmawaty, Elvira Hermawati, Lia D. Juliawaty and Yana M. Syah

Page No. 127-129

Shorea (Dipterocarpaceae) is known to produce resveratrol oligomers, in particular resveratrol trimers. Phytochemical study of one Indonesian Shorea species, namely Shorea leprosula has been performed. We have successfully isolated two resveratrol dimer derivatives (1) -viniferin and (2) laevifonol. The structures of these two compounds were determined mainly based on their NMR and mass spectral data. Biogenetic relationship between the two compounds and chemotaxonomical significance of compound 2 are briefly discussed in this study.

Studies on Biogas Production by Anaerobic Digestion of Fruit and Vegetable waste

Bhattacharjee Akash and Mondal Chanchal

Page No. 130-134

Conventional fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas in India are on the verge of depletion, thus alternative renewable sources of energy are one of the most important needs of the present. One of the most useful alternatives is biogas which is generated from biomass. Utilization of biomass to generate biogas also serves the purpose of disposing the garbage and biodegradable wastes and convert them into a useful form of energy.

Thus, an effort has been made here to utilize fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) for generation of bio-methane by anaerobic digestion (AD) method. Experiments have been carried out separately at four different slurry concentrations i.e. 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%.

Review on silicon and thin film based solar cells

Ho Soonmin and Yousaf Hameed Khattak

Page No. 135-142

Solar cell is the electrical device employed for the conversion of solar radiation into electricity. It could be grouped into different categories based on the materials. Thin film solar cell has many advantages including low cost and high conversion efficiency if compared to a silicon based solar cell. Cadmium telluride films and copper indium gallium selenide films have high absorption coefficient and direct band gap value.

In this work, we have reported the development of silicon and thin film based solar cell. The power conversion of thin film based solar cell was highlighted as well based on the literature review.