• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.52-69
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• 2022

Ferulic acid (FA) is a phytochemical with various bioactive properties. It has recently been proposed that due to its phytogenic action it can be used as an alternative growth promoter additive to synthetic compounds. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the growth performance, carcass traits, fiber characterization and skeletal muscle gene expression on hair-lambs supplemented with two doses of FA. Thirty-two male lambs (n = 8 per treatment) were individually housed during a 32 d feeding trial to evaluate the effect of FA (300 and 600 mg d^-1) or zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH; 6 mg d^-1) on growth performance, and then slaughtered to evaluate the effects on carcass traits, and muscle fibers morphometry from Longissimus thoracis (LT) and mRNA abundance of β₂-adrenergic receptor (β₂-AR), MHC-I, MHC-IIX and IGF-I genes. FA increased final weight and average daily gain with respect to non-supplemented animals (p < 0.05). The ZH supplementation increased LT muscle area, with respect to FA doses and control (p < 0.05). Cross-sectional area (CSA) of oxidative fibers was larger with FA doses and ZH (p < 0.05). Feeding ZH increased mRNA abundance for β₂-AR compared to FA and control (p < 0.05), and expression of MHC-I was affected by FA doses and ZH (p < 0.05). Overall, FA supplementation of male hair lambs enhanced productive variables due to skeletal muscle hypertrophy caused by MHC-I up-regulation. Results suggest that FA has the potential like a growth promoter in lambs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.734-741
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• 2022

Currently, around 40 million people worldwide are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection making HIV a critical global health risk. Present therapies for HIV infection consist of drug cocktails that target different steps of the HIV life cycle to prevent infection, replication, and release of the virus. Due to its mutating nature, drug resistance coupled with side-effects of long-term drug use, novel strategies, and pharmaceuticals to treat and manage HIV infection are constant needs and continuously being studied. Plants allocate a major repertoire of chemical diversity and are therefore regarded as an important source of new bioactive agents that can be utilized against HIV. Since the early 1990s, upon recommendations of the World Health Organization, numerous studies reported phytochemicals from different structural classes such as flavonoids, coumarins, tannins and terpenes with strong inhibitory effects against HIV infection. The present review gathered and presented recent research (2021-present) on plant extracts and phytochemicals that exhibit anti-HIV properties with the aim of providing insights into future studies where ethnomedical and underutilized plant sources may yield important natural products against HIV. Considering the relation and importance of HIV treatment with current viral infection risks such as SARS-CoV-2, screening plants for anti-HIV agents is an important step towards the discovery of novel antivirals.

• CELLMED
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.21.1-21.9
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• 2021

Background: Unani System of Medicine (USM) has its origin to Greece. To ensure and develop the quality, authenticity of Unani drugs, standardization on modern analytical parameter is essential requirement for drugs. Objectives: The aimed of the present study was to develop a standard profile of "Qurṣ-e-Mafasil" by systematic study through authenticated ingredients, pharmacognostic identification followed by physicochemical, TLC, HPTLC fingerprinting analysis as per standard protocol. Material and Methods: In this study three batches of "Qurṣ-e-Mafasil" QM were prepared by standard method as per UPI had been followed by organoleptic properties of formulation such as appearance, color, odor, taste. Powder Microscopy and physicochemical studies were carried out such as Uniformity of weight, Friability, Disintegration time, hardness, LOD, ash vales and extractive values in like aqueous, alcohol & hexane. Further qualitative tests such as Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC), and High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) studies were also carried out to develop fingerprint pattern of the alcoholic solvent extract of QM. Phytochemical screening was carried out in different solvent extracts such as alcoholic, aqueous and chloroform extracts to detect the presence phytoconstituents in the formulation QM. Heavy metals, Microbial Load Contamination and pesticidal residues were also determined. Results: Qurṣ-e-Mafasil showed tablet-like appearance, light brown colour, mild pungent odour and acrid taste. Uniformity of weight (mg), friability (rpm), and hardness (kg/cm) and disintegration time was ranged between (500 to 503), (0.0340 to 0.038), (8.40 to 8.67) and (4-5 minutes) respectively for the three batches. Loss in weight on drying at 105℃ was ranged between (8.3425 to 8.7346). Extracted values were calculated in distilled water ranged between (30.9091 to 31.4358), hexane (1.1419 to 1.4281), and alcohol (3.3352 to 3.3962). The ash values recorded were ranged between (3.7336 to 3.8378), and acid insoluble ash (0.5859 to 0.6112).

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.361-374
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• 2022

For this study, we designed and produced mulberry low-fat ice cream supplemented with synbiotics (MLF-ISS). The sensory characteristics and physical, chemical, and microbiological qualities of MLF-ISS were then determined. Mulberry juice inoculated with or without probiotic (Lactobacillus plantarum TISTR 926 and Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745) was also tested at 37℃ for 24 h to determine probiotic growth rate, pH, total anthocyanin content (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity (AA). Only the TAC of mulberry juice inoculated with S. boulardii CNCM I-745 increased considerably (p < 0.05) among these parameters. MLF-ISS was produced with varied mulberry fruit concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30, or 40%) (w/w). The MLF-ISS prepared with 30% mulberry fruit (w/w) (30-MLF-ISS) had a higher score in appearance, color, and sweetness (p < 0.05) when sensory qualities were measured using the 9-point hedonic scale method. In the CIE lab system (L^*, a^*, b^*), the color values of 30-MLF-ISS were 27.80 ± 0.26, 12.99 ± 0.59, and 1.43 ± 0.05, respectively. The 30-MLF-ISS was also subjected to a proximate analysis. The melting rate of 30-MLF-ISS was 0.29 ± 0.03 g/min and the time it took for the first drop to fall was 37.00 ± 7.00 min. TAC, TPC, and AA of 30-MLF-ISS were observed to alter significantly (p < 0.05) during varied intervals of storage at - 18℃ (0, 30, and 60 days). The viability of probiotics in 30-MLF-ISS slightly decreased after storage at -18℃ for 8 weeks, but remained about 6 log CFU/g. During storage at -18℃ for 0 and 120 days, no pathogenic bacteria were detected in 30-MLF-ISS. These findings show that 30-MLF-ISS has nutritional and functional value, is free of foodborne pathogenic bacteria, is safe for consumers' health, and is suitable for application in the ice cream and related food industries.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.642-653
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• 2023

This study was conducted to determine the quality properties, phytochemical compounds, and antioxidant activities of cookies prepared by replacing wheat flour with 0%, 2%, 4%, and 6% aronia powder. The moisture content of the cookies decreased as the amount of aronia powder added increased. In contrast, the ash, crude protein, and crude fat content of the cookies did not differ between the control cookie and the cookies prepared with 2-6% aronia powder. The spreadability, leavening rate, loss rate and pH decreased with increasing aronia powder content. Compared to the control cookie, the lightness of the cookies decreased, but the redness and yellowness of the cookies increased as the amount of aronia powder added increased. The total polyphenol content of the cookies increased with increasing aronia powder content. The antioxidant activity of the cookies increased significantly as to the amount of aronia powder added increased compared to that of control cookie. Based on the these results, it is concluded that adding aronia powder to cookies increases antioxidant activity.