Extracts from pods and leaves of carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) were tested for their ability to inhibit cell proliferation of mouse hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (T1). The two extracts showed a marked alteration of T1 cell proliferation in a dose-related fashion reaching the maximal effect at 1 mg/ml. Moreover, we demonstrated that leaf and pod extracts were able to induce apoptosis in T1 c...

The possibility of utilising chopped and deseeded carob pods (kibbles) as a source of polyphenolic antioxidants was examined by performing extractions with various solvent systems, in order to evaluate and optimize the conditions for the recovery of polyphenols. Maximum quantities of polyphenolic components were found in 80 % acetone extracts, as evaluated by measuring total polyphenol and tota...

Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a perennial leguminous evergreen tree native to the coastal regions of the Mediterranean basin and is considered to be an important component of vegetation for economic and environmental reasons. Two constituents of the pod, pulp and seeds, can be used as feed or in food production. In this study, drying characteristics, texture and microstructure of carob p...

There is a growing interest worldwide to find out new and cheap carbohydrate sources for production of bioethanol. In this work, carob pod (Ceratonia Siliqua) is proposed as an economical source for ethanol production, especially, in arid regions. The carob tree is an evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean region, cultivated for its edible seed pods and it is currently being reemphasised a...

An effective method was elaborated for extracting the active substances from commercially available Garden thyme and carob seeds. The antibacterial activity of dilutions of thyme and carob extracts and their combinations were studied by taking the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) with agar well diffusion technique. The most effective concentrations of the two herb extracts were used for ...

Regarding some reported antimicrobial properties of tannins; Zymomonas mobilis was used to obtain ethanol from tannin-reduced carob pod extract (TR-CPE). Culture of 50 mL volume containing 7.5 g sugar at pH 5.5 and 0.03 g bacterial inoculums with shaking at 80 rpm was used. Using response surface methodology (RSM), the maximum ethanol concentration of 5.34 % w/v (higher than that reported earli...

Regarding some reported antimicrobial properties of tannins; Zymomonas mobilis was used to obtain ethanol from tannin-reduced carob pod extract (TR-CPE). Culture of 50 ml volume containing 7.5 g sugar at pH 5.5 and 0.03 g bacterial inoculums with shaking at 80 rpm was used. Using response surface methodology (RSM), the maximum ethanol concentration of 5.34 % w/v (higher than that reported earli...

Methanol (ME) and hot water extracts (WE) of carob tree sapwood (Ceratonia siliqua L.) exhibited high antioxidant activity and were rich in phenolic compounds, with the main compounds identified by HPLC/DAD as gentisic acid and (-)-epicatechin. The ME displayed a high in vitro antitumor activity against human tumoural cell lines and reduced intracellular ROS production by HeLa cells after treat...

BACKGROUND Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a higher incidence of cardiovascular (CV) events. The ingestion of high-glycemic index (GI) diets, specially sweetened beverage consumption, has been associated with the development of T2DM and CV disease. OBJECTIVE We investigated the effects of the intake of a sweetened beverage, obtained from natural carbohydrates containing pin...