BACKGROUND Recent studies have demonstrated that photosynthetic cyanobacteria could be an excellent cell factory to produce renewable biofuels and chemicals due to their capability to utilize solar energy and CO2 as the sole energy and carbon sources. Biosynthesis of carbon-neutral biofuel alkanes with good chemical and physical properties has been proposed. However, to make the process economi...

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory condition associated with a high colon cancer risk. We have previously reported that American ginseng extract significantly reduced the inflammatory parameters of chemically induced colitis. The aim of this study was to further delineate the components of American ginseng that suppress colitis and prevent colon cancer. Among five different fractions ...

To gain insight into the mechanisms of enzyme catalysis in organic solvents, the x-ray structure of some monomeric enzymes in organic solvents was determined. However, it remained to be explored whether the structure of oligomeric proteins is also amenable to such analysis. The field acquired new perspectives when it was proposed that the x-ray structure of enzymes in nonaqueous media could rev...

Catalytic cracking of n-hexane to selectively produce propylene on Beta zeolite was carried out. The H-Beta (HB) (Si/Al = 77) zeolite showed higher catalytic stability and propylene selectivity than the Al-rich HB (Si/Al = 12), due to its smaller number of acid sites, especially Lewis acid sites (LAS). However, catalytic stability and propylene selectivity in high n-hexane conversions were stil...

Superheated hexane extraction has been tested for obtaining fatty acids from grape seed and compared with conventional Soxhlet and hot hexane extractions. Seeds from grape residues from a winery were dried for 46h at 105 degrees C, milled and sieved by particle size (d<0.42mm, 0.420.84mm). An optimization study of influential variables on superheated hexane extraction (namely ex...

BACKGROUND Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] is an important pulse crop globally. This imperative crop is severely affected by charcoal rot disease caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. In the present study, the leaves of Calotropis procera L. were tested for their antifungal potential against M. phaseolina. MATERIALS AND METHODS Various concentrations i.e. 1%, 2.5%, 4%, 5.5% an...

The purpose of this work is to investigate the influence of n-hexane addition on in situ transesterification of a solid raw material for biodiesel production. Extraction and reaction of macroalgae oil has been performed simultaneously in a batch reactor adding n-hexane with the reactants. In order to analyze the influence of n-hexane on the transesterification, the reaction was also carried out...

The asymmetric unit of the title salt, [H3N(CH2)6NH3][(HO)O2P(CH2)6PO2(OH)], consists of one half of a hexane-1,6-diaminium dication and one half of a hexane-1,6-diyl bis-(hydrogen phospho-nate) dianion. Both are located around different centres of inversion (Wyckoff sites: 2a and 2d) of the space group P21/c. The shape of the hexane-1,6-diaminium cation is best described as a double hook. Both...

The fatty acids profiles of Tunisian Opuntia ficus indica seeds (spiny and thornless form) were investigated. Results of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO(2)) and soxhlet n-hexane extract were compared. Quantitatively, the better yield was obtained through soxhlet n-hexane: 10.32% (spiny) and 8.91% (thornless) against 3.4% (spiny) and 1.94% (thornless) by SC-CO(2) extract (T = 40°C, P = 180 b...

Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss, a member of Labiatae family, is a native plant to Iran, which has been reported to have immunomodulatory, antihyperlipidemic and antispasmodic activities. The objective of this research was to study the antispasmodic and antidiarrhoeal activities of hydroalcoholic and hexane extracts of D. kotschyi in mice. Furthermore, the antidiarrhoeal and antispasmodic effect o...