Prasant Kumar Rout

Supercritical CO2 fractionation of bio-oil produced from wheat-hemlock biomass.

The biomass i.e. wheat-hemlock used in this study was first characterized for its composition. The physical and chemical characterization of biomass was estimated using proximate analysis, calorific value, crystallinity, devolatilization behaviour, ultimate analysis, ICP-MS of ash, FT-IR, XRD, CHNS, and HPLC analysis. For commercial purpose the same biomass was used for conversion to bio-oil by fast pyrolysis process. Therefore, in order to investigate its composition, the bio-oil was also characterized using proximate analysis, calorific value, whereas the chemical composition of the bio-oil was estimated using CHNS, (1)H NMR, GC-FID and GC/MS. The bio-oil obtained from wheat-hemlock biomass was supplied by Advanced Biorefinery Co. and after the analysis, its composition has been determined. It contains a mixture of hydrocarbons, pyranoids, furanoids, benzenoids and fatty acids/alcohols with 45% of water, which forms azeotrope with organic polar compounds. The supercritical CO(2) (SC-CO(2)) is an advanced method for selective extraction of valuable chemicals from bio-oil without solvent residue. The organic fraction of the bio-oil was isolated by SC-CO(2). It was observed that SC-CO(2) fractions collected at 10 and 25 MPa pressure were enriched with furanoids, pyranoids and bezenoids. Similarly the bio-oil was also fractionated by conventional column chromatographic method and the yields and chemical compositions were compared with fractionated bio-oil obtained using SC-CO(2).

Analysis of the Oil of Large Cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.,) Growing in Sikkim

Abstract Oils obtained by hydrodistillation of the seeds of green, freshly dried and those available in the local market of large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. A total of 33 components were identified by mass spectra and relative retention indices. The major component of the oil was 1,8-cineole (81.5–86%).

Does the volatile hydrocarbon profile differ between the sexes: a case study on five aphidophagous ladybirds.

Insect hydrocarbons (HCs) primarily serve as a waterproofing cuticular layer and function extensively in chemical communication by facilitating species, sex, and colony recognition. In this study, headspace solid-phase microextraction is employed for investigating the sex-specific volatile HC profile of five ladybirds collected from Lucknow, India namely, Coccinella septempunctata (L.), Coccinella transversalis (Fabr.), Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabr.), Propylea dissecta (Mulsant), and Anegleis cardoni (Weise) for the first time. Major compounds reported in C. septempunctata, C. transversalis, and A. cardoni are methyl-branched saturated HCs, whereas in M. sexmaculatus, and P. dissecta, they are unsaturated HCs. Other than A. cardoni, both the sexes of the other four ladybirds had similar compounds at highest peak but with statistically significant differences. However, in A. cardoni, which is a beetle with a narrow niche, the major compound in both male and female was different. The difference in volatile HC profile of the sexes of the five ladybirds indicates that gender-specific differences primarily exist due to quantitative differences in chemicals with only very few chemicals being unique to a gender. This variation in semiochemicals might have a role in behavioral or ecological aspects of the studied ladybirds.

Composition of Absolutes of Jasminum sambac L. Flowers Fractionated with Liquid CO2 and Methanol and Comparison with Liquid CO2 Extract

Abstract Absolutes obtained by fractionation of the pentane extract (concrete) of flowers of Jasminum sambac L. with cold methanol or liquid CO2 were compared. Direct extraction of flowers with liquid CO2 gave a relatively fat-free and superior product in 0.44% yield. It was found that the CO2 method of fractionation of pentane extract is a practical process providing an organoleptically superior product, though the product is not totally free from waxy substances. (E,E)-α-Farnesene and (Z)-3-hexenyl benzoate, along with compounds like indole, methyl anthranilate and methyl jasmonate, responsible for high diffusivity of the jasmine fragrance, have been obtained with improved recoveries in the CO2 fractionated concrete.

Exploring Microalgae Consortia for Biomass Production: A Synthetic Ecological Engineering Approach Towards Sustainable Production of Biofuel Feedstock

In this chapter, modern approaches of synthetic micro-algal ecology have been focused to reach the industrial scale reality of biofuel feedstock production. Diversity of micro-algal species, screening for novel inherent traits, common nutrient requirements and growth complementarities, selection of a robust species for consortia development, physiology of monocultures, role of stoichiometric growth modeling in channelizing the metabolic flux for the cumulative production of high quality biomass from synthetic microalgal consortia, and scale up of the process for desirable production of high quality biomass are briefly described. To get the reality that how the changes in the community structure can make changes in the cumulative physiology and production of primary metabolites of biofuel interest has been explained in detail.

Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of wheat distiller's dried grain with solubles.

A wide variety of carbohydrates and starch-containing materials have been used for production of ethanol by the fermentation process. The alcohol from grain such as corn, wheat, barley, and sweet sorgum produced dried distillate grain with solubles (DDGS) and carbon dioxide as by-products. An attempt has been made to extract fatty oil from wheat DDGS using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2). Wheat DDGS contain 65–70% of omega-3-fatty acid and omega-6-fatty acid. The fatty oil was also extracted from wheat DDGS by the Soxhlet method using hexane. The chemical compositions of fatty oils were determined by carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur analyser, gas chromatography–flame ionization detector and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. SC-CO2 is a suitable process for extraction of fatty oils with an improved percentage of essential fatty acids such as omega-3-fatty acid and omega-6-fatty acid.

Silencing of quinolinic acid phosphoribosyl transferase (QPT) gene for enhanced production of scopolamine in hairy root culture of Duboisia leichhardtii

Scopolamine is a pharmaceutically important tropane alkaloid which is used therapeutically in the form of an anesthetic and antispasmodic drug. The present study demonstrates enhanced scopolamine production from transgenic hairy root clones of Duboisia leichhardtii wherein the expression of quinolinate phosphoribosyl transferase (QPT) gene was silenced using the QPT-RNAi construct under the control of CaMV 35 S promoter. The RNAi hairy roots clones viz. P4, P7, P8, and P12 showed the enhanced synthesis of scopolamine with significant inhibition of nicotine biosynthesis. Optimization of culture duration in combination with methyl jasmonate elicitor in different concentrations (50 µM-200 µM) was carried out. Maximum synthesis of scopolamine had obtained from HR clones P7 (8.84 ± 0.117 mg/gm) on the 30th day of cultivation. Conspicuously, elicitation with wound-associated hormone methyl jasmonate enhanced the yield of scopolamine 2.2 fold (19.344 ± 0.275 mg/gm) compared to the culture lacking the elicitor. The transgenic hairy roots cultures established with RNAi mediated silencing of quinolinate phosphoribosyl transferase gene provides an alternative approach to increase the yield of scopolamine in fulfilling the demand of this secondary metabolite.

Synthetic microbial ecology and nanotechnology for the production of Taxol and its precursors: A step towards sustainable production of cancer therapeutics

Abstract Combined use of synthetic microbial ecology and nanotechnology is an emerging area in enabling the modern technologies that could be helpful in developing various high-value pharmaceutical compounds. Taxol is an anticancer drug produced from the bark of Taxus brevifolia or Taxus baccata in very limited amounts which prompted intensive research efforts to discover its sustainable and alternate sources and technologies including; development of synthetic endophytic microbial consortia and application of modern principles of nanotechnologies to get higher titers of Taxol and its precursors. In this chapter, approaches of synthetic microbial ecology and nanotechnology have been explored to produce anticancer compounds, paclitaxel and baccatin, through developing synthetic consortia of endophytes from Taxus plant, and applying the magnetic affinity nanobeads, nanodevices and nanochips in their fermentation broth for easier recovery to develop it as a sustainable microbial nanotechnology for cancer therapeutics.