A preparative gas chromatography (pGC) method was developed for the separation of isomers (cis- and trans-asarone) from essential oil of Acorus tatarinowii. The oil was primarily fractionated by silica gel chromatography using different ratios of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate as gradient elution solvents. And then the fraction that contains mixture of the isomers was further separated by pG...

Dispersant use in nearshore areas is likely to increase the exposure of aquatic organisms to petroleum. To measure the toxicity of this controversial response technique, golden grey mullets (Liza aurata) were exposed to mechanically dispersed oil, chemically dispersed oil, dispersant alone in seawater, water-soluble fraction of oil and to seawater as a control treatment. Several biomarkers were...

Calligonum comosum (Polygonaceae), an Egyptian desert plant, was extracted and fractionated using petroleum ether, methylene chloride, and ethyl acetate. The total methanolic extract and other fractions were tested for their anticancer activity using Ehrlich ascites, brine shrimp and antioxidant assays. Ethyl acetate fraction proved to be the most active in all assays. Eight compounds were isol...

Tinospora crispa, a plant belonging to the family of Menispermaceae is a well-known traditional medicinal plant used in Bangladesh. This study has carried out to evaluate the analgesic (by acetic acid induced writhing test) activities by using Swiss albino mice as a test animal. At a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight, the crude methanol extract and its other fractions of stem significantly (p<0.05)...

This model is motivated by the need to explain anomalous features associated with production from reservoirs of so-called foamy oils. These oils are described by some of their properties of response to pressure declines; it is noted that they nucleate dispersed gas bubbles and display obvious foaminess in well head samples produced by solution gas drive in which oil and gas is produced by the d...

Exposure to the aromatic hydrocarbon is a public health problem and threat to environment with proven harmful impact on humanity, including industrial workers and general population. Petrol station attendants are workers chronically exposed at least five year to petroleum derivatives primarily through inhalation of the volatile fraction of petrol during vehicle refueling. Significant include ha...

In addition to four previously reported compounds: proximadiol (1), 5α-hydroxy-β-eudesmol (2), 1β-hydroxy-β-eudesmol (4) and 1β-hydroxy-α-eudesmol (5), two new sesquiterpenes, 5α-hydroperoxy-β-eudesmol (3) and 7α,11-dihydroxycadin-10(14)-ene (6) were isolated from the unsaponifiable fraction of the petroleum ether extract of Cymbopogon proximus STAPF. Isolation of compounds 2, 4 and 5 from the ...

The focus of this work was to improve the aqueous emulsion polymerization of a highly water-insoluble monomer derived from plant oil, acrylated methyl oleate. Conventional emulsion polymerization requires excessive amounts of surfactant and long reaction time. Miniemulsion polymerization improved the polymerization significantly. Only a fraction of the surfactant and reaction time that was nece...

Citrullus colocynthis (Linn.) Schrad. is an important medicinal plant belonging to family Cucurbitaceae. Flavonoid "quercetin" was isolated from in vivo (leaf, stem, fruit and root) and in vitro callus of the species. The dried samples were separately soxhlet extracted in 80% methanol and then reextracted with petroleum ether, diethyl ether and ethyl acetate. The fraction was concentrated and s...

List of Abbreviations CIIAPTER ONE General Introduction Pollution of Saudi Arabian soil with crude oil Chemistry and biodegradability of petroleum hydrocarbon Environmental fate of petroleum Factors influencing petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation Distribution of petroleum-utilizing microorganisms in the environment Biological degradation of petroleum hydrocarbon Bacterial degradation of oil Fu...