Muhammad Zahoor

In vivo detoxification of aflatoxinB1 by magnetic carbon nanostructures prepared from bagasse

BackgroundAflatoxins are serious hazard to poultry industry and human health. Broiler chickens fed on aflatoxin contaminated feed develop various abnormal signs and behavior including less attraction toward feed, abnormal faeces consistency, growth retardation, dirty and ruffled feather, abnormal organs size and weight and blood serum biochemistry. Therefore the study was aimed to detoxify aflatoxin B1 in poultry feed. In this study a novel adsorbent was prepared from bagasse, characterized in vitro and in vivo it was fed to different groups of poultry birds along with aflatoxin B1. The groups were given arbitrary names A, B, C, D, E and F. Group A was fed with normal decontaminated feed, group B was fed with aflatoxin contaminated (200 μg/kg feed) feed while the groups C, D, E and F were fed with aflatoxin contaminated (200 μg/kg feed) feed plus 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5% adsorbent respectively. Clinical signs and behavior of the chicks; blood level of alanine transferase, alkaline phosphatase, serum albumen, serum total proteins and serum globulin; Mortality; Body and organ weights; Hemorrhages in organs etc. were monitored in order to study the efficacy of the adsorbent for binding of aflatoxin B1 in the gastrointestinal tract of chickens. Statistical approach was adopted to analyze the data.ResultsIt was found that adsorbent amount 0.3%/kg feed was highly effective to adsorb and detoxify aflatoxin B1 in gastrointestinal tract of broiler chickens and pass safely leaving no harmful effects. However the results of groups E and F fed on 0.4% and 0.5% respectively showed slight variation in tested parameters from group A.ConclusionsThe prepared adsorbent was efficient for the detoxification of aflatoxin B1 in gastrointestinal tract of chicks and no negative symptoms associated with the use of activated carbon as previously reported were observed for the adsorbent under study.

Removal of Heavy Metals from Drinking Water by Magnetic Carbon Nanostructures Prepared from Biomass

Heavy metals contamination of drinking water has significant adverse effects on human health due to their toxic nature. In this study a new adsorbent, magnetic graphitic nanostructures were prepared from watermelon waste. The adsorbent was characterized by different instrumental techniques (surface area analyzer, FTIR, XRD, EDX, SEM, and TG/DTA) and was used for the removal of heavy metals (As, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn) from water. The adsorption parameters were determined for heavy metals adsorption using Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The adsorption kinetics and effect of time, pH, and temperature on heavy metal ions were also determined. The best fits were obtained for Freundlich isotherm. The percent adsorption showed a decline at high pH. Best fit was obtained with second-order kinetics model for the kinetics experiments. The values of źH° and źG° were negative while that of źS° was positive. The prepared adsorbent has high adsorption capacities and can be efficiently used for the removal of heavy metals from water.

Cytotoxic, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of extracts of the bark of Melia azedarach (China Berry).

Nature provides a variety of drugs and medicinal agents derived from plants. This study was conducted to determine antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of extracts of Melia azedarach bark with methanol/water (9:1 v/v), chloroform, butanol, hexane, water and ethyl acetate. For the determination of the antimicrobial activities, the agar well diffusion method was employed. Cytotoxicity was studied by brine shrimp lethality assay; antioxidant activities were measured using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. The chloroform extract was active against Enterobacter aerogenes and Proteus mirabilis, the ethyl acetate extract had highest antibacterial spectrum against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the n-hexane extract had highest inhibition against E. aerogenes, the aqueous extract showed highest activities against P. mirabilis, the butanol fraction showed highest activities against E. aerogenes and the methanolic extract was highly active against P. mirabilis.

Removal of humic acid from water through adsorption–ultrafiltration hybrid processes

AbstractMagnetic activated carbon (MAC) was prepared, characterized, and investigated to quantify the effects of pretreatment in a membrane filtration system. The effects of MAC on membrane parameters like percent retention, permeate flux, and backwash times were compared to that of powdered activated carbon (PAC). The prepared adsorbent has magnetization values 10 JT−1 kg−1 and point of zero charge value of 8.67. The effects of both adsorbents on membrane parameters were almost same. However, the secondary problems like cake formation have been observed for PAC was not observed due to the fact that MAC was removed from slurry through magnet. Also, PAC caused blackening of flow meter and pipes when used in combination with ultrafiltration membrane (UF) in a hybrid manner. The backwash time was shortest for MAC/UF hybrid process as compared to PAC/UF operation.

Evaluation of inorganic profile and anti-nutritional values of Cocculus hirsutus

As the plants are directly in contact with air, water and soil, the constituents of these sources might contaminate the plants. Useful elements, such as Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Cu and Co are also usually present in plants which help in good health. Cocculus hirsutus, belongs to the family Menispermaceae and it is a perennial climber mainly used for the treatment of diabetes, laxative, demulcent, anti inflammatory, analgesic and also used as tonic and diuretic. Looking at the medicinal values of C. hirsutus , the present study was aimed to estimate the inorganic constituents and anti-nutritional value for safe use. Essential bulk metal ions were observed to be dominant where potassium was highest while phosphorus was lowest. The decreasing order of essential trace metals ions was Fe>Cu>Zn>Ni>Co>Cr. Among the antinutritional components, oxalic acid was 25.32 mg/100 g, while that of phytic acid was 0.280 mg/100 g, on fresh weight basis.

Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles by Using Ziziphus nummularia Leaves Aqueous Extract and Their Biological Activities

Silver nanoparticles of Ziziphus nummularia leaves extract were synthesized and were characterized by UV-Visible spectrophotometry, particle size analyzer, X-ray diffraction XRD, differential scanning calorimetry DSC, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FT-IR, SEM, TGA, and EDX. The XRD pattern reveals the FCC structure of Ag nanoparticles. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of Ag-O bonding. UV-Visible spectroscopy results confirmed the existence of Ag because of the particular peak in the region of 400–430. The SEM analysis confirmed spherical and uniform Ag nanoparticles with diameter ranging from 30 nm to 85 nm. The EDX analysis revealed strong signals in the silver region and confirmed the formation of silver nanoparticles. The antioxidant potential and antifungal and antimicrobial potential of the leaf extract and silver nanoparticles were also determined. The antioxidant property was determined using DPPH assay. The antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties were better for the silver nanoparticles than the aqueous leaf extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration MIC, minimum bactericidal MBC, and minimum fungicidal concentration MFC of plant extract and prepared silver nanoparticles were also tested. The hair growth properties of plant extracts and their respective nanoparticles were observed and good results were noted for nanoparticles as compared to the leaf extract.

Separation of surfactants from water by granular activated carbon/ultrafiltration hybrid process

The aim of the study was to determine the efficiency granular activated carbon (GAC) as foul control in ultrafiltration (UF) membrane process. The adsorptive parameters for triton x-100, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS), and N-dodecylpyridinium chloride on GAC were determined. The equilibrium data fit well to Langmuir adsorption isotherm rather than Freundlich model. Breakthrough curves were obtained from fixed bed experiments, and column parameter was calculated from it. For UF membrane alone and GAC/UF hybrid process, the percent retentions of the selected surfactants under study were determined and the declines in flux were observed. The percent retention was 4, 10, and 22 % for N-dodecylpyridinium chloride, SDBS, and triton x-100, respectively. In the presence of adsorbent, the improved percent retention was 87, 95, and 98 % for triton x-100, SDBS, and N-dodecylpyridinium chloride, respectively. The problems already reported for powdered activated carbon such as cake formation over membrane surface, long backwash time, and blackening of pipes were not observed for GAC.

Bacteriological, inorganic and heavy metal evaluation of drinking water of the specified flood affected areas of Dir (Lower) Pakistan

AbstractIn the year 2010, Pakistan was badly hit by devastating flood and about one-fifth of the total area of the country was under the flood water. In this study, an attempt was made to find out whether the portable water sources were still contaminated with various pollutants or not, after two years of the devastating flood. The samples were collected from selected areas of Dir Lower Khyber Pakhthoonkhwa Pakistan in 2012. Different physicochemical parameters like pH, EC, turbidity, alkalinity and hardness, , , F−1, Cl−1, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cr, Ni, Fe and Pb were determined. The samples were also checked for the presence of pathogenic bacteria. The collected water samples were found contaminated with high level of nutritional metals, heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Fe, Pb) and pathogenic bacteria such as coliform, faecal coliform, E. coli, S. aureus.

Magnetic adsorbent used in combination with ultrafiltration membrane for the removal of surfactants from water

AbstractPowdered activated carbon (PAC)/iron oxide composite (MAC13) was prepared and was characterized by surface area analyzer, powdered X-ray diffraction, and sigma bulk magnetization. The adsorptive parameters of the prepared adsorbent and PAC were determined for Triton X-100, N-dodecylpyridinium chloride, and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate. The equilibrium adsorption data matched well to Langmuir model in various concentration ranges. The effects on contact time of adsorbates on adsorbents were determined. Both adsorbents were used in hybrid manner in pilot plant with ultrafiltration membrane (UF) system. The UF membrane parameters were determined for both PAC/UF and MAC13/UF process. Although the percent retention for PAC/UF was high, was associated with some secondary problems like cake formation over membrane and blacking of pipes. These secondary problems were not observed for MAC13, as MAC13 was removed from the slurry after use through magnet. Improved permeate fluxes were observed for MAC13 a...

Cu(II) coordination polymers stabilized by pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate anion and pyrazole derivatives through ligand hydrolysis

Abstract 2,6-Pyridinedicarbonyldichloride (PDD) was treated with pyrazole, 3-methylpyrazole, and 3,5-dimethylpyrazole in the presence of trimethylamine at room temperature. Reactions afforded 2,6-bis(pyrazolyl-1-carbonyl)pyridine (1), 2,6-bis(3-methylpyrazolyl-1-carbonyl)pyridine (2) and 2,6-bis(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl-1-carbonyl)pyridine (3). 1-3 were treated with copper ion under ambient conditions in open air. Such coupling of 1 and 2 with copper led to coordination polymers 6 and 7, bearing 1D architectures, of general formulas [Cu(C7H3NO4)(C3H4N2)]n and [Cu(C7H3NO4)(C4H7N2)]n (C7H3NO4 = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate ion, C3H4N2 = pyrazole and C4H7N2 = 3-methylpyrazole), respectively. Under the same experimental conditions, 3 instead forms a mononuclear Cu(II) complex (8). Structures of 1-3 and 6-8 were determined with X-ray diffraction. The solid state structures reveal that short-range intermolecular interactions in the ligands afford 1D (1) and 2D (2 and 3) supramolecular chains, respectively. 6 and 7 both crystallize in the orthorhombic system, space group P212121. 1–3 were also characterized with elemental analysis and NMR spectroscopy. The magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that both complexes are paramagnetic with effective moments of 1.75 (6) and 1.90 (7) µB at 300 K. The voltammetric signatures of 6 and 8 show two steps reversible redox behavior as evidenced by the appearance of two cathodic waves with corresponding anodic peaks in the backward scan. Graphical Abstract