Kifayat Ullah

Physicochemical Analysis of Hemp Oil Biodiesel: A Promising Non Edible New Source for Bioenergy

Abstract In recent times, the world has been confronted with an energy crises due to the depletion of fossil fuel resources, increased petroleum prices, and great environmental concerns. The situation has led to the search for an alternative, sustainable and clean fuel from vegetable oils and their derivatives. This article reports an optimized protocol for the production of biodiesel from a new source of non edible hemp oil (Cannabis sativa L.) through base catalyzed transesterification. The hemp oil is investigated for the first time in this study as a potential source of biodiesel based on detailed physico-chemical analysis. The quantity and quality of hemp oil biodiesel (HOB) is evaluated through fuel properties analysis and GC-MS, FT-IR and NMR techniques. The free fatty acid number of crude hemp oil was 0.98 mg/g and 2.11 mg/g against NaOH and KOH catalysts. The percentage of conversion of crude oil to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) was 90% at 6:1 molar ratio (Methanol:Oil) by using 20% NaOH catalyst at 60°C. The most important variables affecting the FAME yield during transesterification are reaction time, catalyst concentration, molar ratio and reaction temperature. The HOB was found to be clean, environmentally friendly, and exhibit fuel properties within the range of American Standard for Testing Material.

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Sesame Oil Biodiesel

Abstract At present, the world faces severe issues of energy crises and environmental deterioration. Fuel is inevitable for industrial development and growth of any country. The fossil fuel resources have always been terrifying. Biofuel energy, a renewable source, seems to be an ideal solution for global energy and environmental concern. The present work focuses on an optimized protocol for the production of biodiesel from a feasible source, i.e., sesame plant oil (Sesamum indicum L.) through base catalyzed transesterification. The sesame plant oil is investigated in this study as a potential source of biodiesel based on fuel properties and physico-chemical analysis. The free fatty acid number of crude sesame oil was 0.83 mg/g of KOH (1.66%). Conversion of sesame crude oil (triglyceride) to biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester) was 75.45% and 72.56% at 1:6 molar ratio (oil:methanol) by using optimum 0.67% KOH and 0.34% NaOH catalyst, respectively, at 60°C for qualitative authentication. Specified analytical techniques are as follows: GC-MS used to clarify the different fatty acid methyl esters; FT-IR to monitor the transesterification reaction; and NMR for the justification of proton and carbon of that compound. Qualitatively, the biodiesel fuel properties were analyzed by the standard method American Society for Testing Material (ASTM).

Spider’s venom phospholipases D: A structural review

Spider venoms are complex mixtures of proteins, peptides and small organic and inorganic molecules. Among the proteins, phospholipases D (PLDs) present the major portion, and till now they are the most studied enzymes in spider venom. These PLDs have been divided into two classes, I and II, based on their primary and tertiary structure. Currently, crystal structures of both classes of these enzymes are available in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). Their three-dimensional structure is composed of eight α-helices and eight β-strands forming the ubiquitous fold called triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) barrel. These enzymes use general acid-base catalysis to hydrolyzes their substrate. In this review, we have described the structural features, structure-based mechanisms of catalysis, maturation, and inhibition of these enzymes using the synthetic inhibitor.

Thrombin-like enzymes from snake venom: Structural characterization and mechanism of action

Snake venom thrombin-like enzymes (SVTLEs) constitute the major portion (10-24%) of snake venom and these are the second most abundant enzymes present in the crude venom. During envenomation, these enzymes had shown prominently the various pathological effects, such as disturbance in hemostatic system, fibrinogenolysis, fibrinolysis, platelet aggregation, thrombosis, neurologic disorders, activation of coagulation factors, coagulant, procoagulant etc. These enzymes also been used as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of various diseases such as congestive heart failure, ischemic stroke, thrombotic disorders etc. Although the crystal structures of five SVTLEs are available in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), there is no single article present in the literature that has described all of them. The current work describes the structural aspects, structure-based mechanism of action, processing and inhibition of these enzymes. The sequence analysis indicates that these enzymes show a high sequence identity (57-85%) with each other and low sequence identity with trypsin (36-43%), human alpha-thrombin (29-36%) and other snake venom serine proteinases (57-85%). Three-dimensional structural analysis indicates that the loops surrounding the active site are variable both in amino acids composition and length that may convey variable substrate specificity to these enzymes. The surface charge distributions also vary in these enzymes. Docking analysis with suramin shows that this inhibitor preferably binds to the C-terminal region of these enzymes and causes the destabilization of their three-dimensional structure.

Ethnobotanical studies of fodder grass resources for ruminant animals, based on the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities in Central Punjab Pakistan

BackgroundTraditional knowledge of indigenous plants is pivotal in developing strategies to feed livestock sustainably in low input systems. Likewise, in Pakistan the indigenous people of Central Punjab have been using their regional grasses as a ruminant fodder for centuries. This study evaluated the indigenous traditional knowledge to ascertain the value of various fodder grasses to optimise their use to feed livestock in Central Punjab.MethodsThe snowball technique was employed to identify key informants who had relevant knowledge about different grasses in the study area. Semi-structured questionnaires, face-to-face interviews and site visits were used for describing the fodder grasses. The data were then analysed by using relative frequency citation and pairwise comparison methods to determine the order of priority among the listed fodder grasses. Furthermore, SPSS 22 software was used for descriptive statistics and interpretation of associations among studied parameters. Microsoft Excel was used to present data as % values and graphs.ResultsOverall, 53 grasses were described with ethnobotanical information regarding their uses for fodder, ethnoveterinary and other purposes. All these grasses belonged to the family Poaceae where the subfamily Panicoideae had the maximum number of 30 grasses. We categorized these grasses into high (A), medium (B) and low priority (C) groups where the group A grasses were reported as not only the most abundant but also the most palatable forages to all ruminants. Their higher demand was reflected by the feeding systems of both ad libitum grazing and feeding after cutting and mixing with other feeds. The study also revealed 37 previously unreported ethnoveterinary uses of these grasses.ConclusionsThe results have reinforced the value of conserving ethnobotanical knowledge, being poorly documented previously, in developing strategies to feed livestock. It indicated the preferred fodder grasses as well as the possible reasons of their preference. The reported data need to be validated for nutritional and health benefits. This information could help the smallholder farmers in association with regional governments to propagate suitable fodder grasses for their use in sustainable livestock feeding to produce safe and healthy food for indigenous communities.

Synthesis, structural characterization and catalytic application of citrate-stabilized monometallic and bimetallic palladium@copper nanoparticles in microbial anti-activities

In this research work, copper (Cu), palladium (Pd) and their bimetallic palladium@ copper (Pd@Cu) nanoparticles were synthesized using trisodium citrate as a stabilizing agent using the known chemical reduction method. The synthesized Cu, Pd and Pd@Cu nanoparticles were characterized by the ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, respectively. The different volumes of trisodium citrate were used for the stability of synthesized monometallic Cu, Pd and bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles. The synthesized Cu, Pd and their bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles were used as catalysts for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol in the presence of NaBH4. The bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles had efficient catalytic activities with a high rate constant (1.812 min−1) as compared to monometallic Cu (0.3322 min−1) and Pd (0.2689 min−1) nanoparticles, respectively. The correlation coefficient (R2) was found to be 0.99 for these three nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the effect of Cu, Pd and bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles was checked on the physiology of specific different micro-organism strains. The bimetallic Pd@Cu nanoparticles reported the maximum resistance at maximum level the growth of bacterial strain and had observed a smooth antibacterial graph than the monometallic analogs.