The defatted seed meal of Camellia oleifera has been used as a natural detergent and its extract is commercially utilized as a foam-stabilizing and emulsifying agent. The goal of this study was to investigate the foam properties and detergent ability of the saponins from the defatted seed meal of C. oleifera. The crude saponin content in the defatted seed meal of C. oleifera was 8.34% and the total saponins content in the crude saponins extract was 39.5% (w/w). The foaming power of the 0.5% crude saponins extract solution from defatted seed meal of C. oleifera was 37.1% of 0.5% SLS solution and 51.3% to that of 0.5% Tween 80 solution. The R5 value of 86.0% represents good foam stability of the crude saponins extracted from the defatted seed meal of the plant. With the reduction of water surface tension from 72 mN/m to 50.0 mN/m, the 0.5% crude saponins extract solution has wetting ability. The sebum-removal experiment indicated that the crude saponins extract has moderate detergency. The detergent abilities of the saponins from C. oleifera and Sapindus mukorossi were also compared.

Chemical Composition and Biological Properties of Essential Oils of Two Mint Species

Laccases are diphenol oxidases that have numerous applications to biotechnological processes. In this study, the laccase was produced from the thermophilic actinomycetes,Thermobifida fuscaBCRC 19214. After 36 h of fermentation in a 5-liter fermentor, the culture broth accumulated 4.96 U/ml laccase activity. The laccase was purified 4.64-fold as measured by specific activity from crude culture filtrate by ultrafiltration concentration, Q-Sepharose FF and Sephacryl™ S-200 column chromatography. The overall yield of the purified enzyme was 7.49%. The molecular mass of purified enzyme as estimated by SDS-PAGE and by gel filtration on Sephacryl™ S-200 was found to be 73.3 kDa and 24.7 kDa, respectively, indicating that the laccase fromT. fuscaBCRC 19214 is a trimer. The internal amino acid sequences of the purified laccase, as determined by LC-MS/MS, had high homology with a superoxide dismutase fromT. fuscaYX. Approximately 95% of the original activity remained after treatment at 50°C for 3 h. and approximately 75% of the original activity remained after treatment at pH 10.0 for 24 h. This laccase could oxidize dye intermediates, especially 2,6-dimethylphenylalanine andp-aminophenol, to produce coloring. This is the first report on laccase properties from thermophilic actinomycetes. These properties suggest that this newly isolated laccase has potential for specific industrial applications.

Hylocereus polyrhizus cultivation started in Taiwan around the 1980s. The pulp of the fruit is edible and contains small, black, and soft seeds. The peel of the fruits are covered with bracts. The H. polyrhizus fruit is known to be rich in nutrients and minerals. To evaluate the potential applications of the agricultural wastes of H. polyrhizus, the stem, peel, and flower of H. polyrhizus were extracted with solutions of ethanol and water mixed in different ratios. Data was collected for the H. polyrhizus extract including the yield of total phenolics, the total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity, as determined by the 2-2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assay. The protective effects of H. polyrhizus extract on DNA was investigated using an assay with the pUC19 plasmid. The cell proliferation and migration effects were evaluated in the NIH-3T3 fibroblast cell line. The greatest yield of extract from the stem of H. polyrhizus was 44.70 ± 1.77% which was obtained using 50% aqueous ethanol and the greatest yield of extract from the peel was 43.47% using distilled water. The stem extract, which was prepared with 95% aqueous ethanol, had the highest composition of phenolics and flavonoids as well as the best DPPH radical scavenging activity. The stem extract had excellent ABTS radical scavenging activity as well. The stem, peel, and flower extracts, which were prepared using 95% aqueous ethanol, showed excellent results in protecting themselves from DNA damage, similar to the effect of 0.3 mg/mL ferulic acid. None of the extracts were able to promote cell proliferation at concentrations of 250 μg/mL to 2,000 μg/mL in a 24 h period. The 1000 μg/mL stem and flower extracts in 95% aqueous ethanol promoted considerable cell migration after a 24 h period.