The high cost of fermentation media is one of the technical barriers in amylase production from microbial sources. Amylase is used in several industrial processes or industries, for example, in the food industry, the saccharification of starchy materials, and in the detergent and textile industry. In this study, marine microorganisms were isolated to identify unique amylase-producing microbes in starch agar medium. More than 50 bacterial strains with positive amylase activity, isolated from marine water and soil, were screened for amylase production in starch agar medium. Bacillus sp. BCC 021-50 was found to be the best amylase-producing strain in starch agar medium and under submerged fermentation conditions. Next, fermentation conditions were optimized for bacterial growth and enzyme production. The highest amylase concentration of 5211 U/mL was obtained after 36 h of incubation at 50 °C, pH 8.0, using 20 g/L molasses as an energy source and 10 g/L peptone as a nitrogen source. From an application perspective, crude amylase was characterized in terms of temperature and pH. Maximum amylase activity was noted at 70 °C and pH 7.50. However, our results show clear advantages for enzyme stability in alkaline pH, high-temperature, and stability in the presence of surfactant, oxidizing, and bleaching agents. This research contributes towards the development of an economical amylase production process using agro-industrial residues.

| Cellulosic biorefinery facing two major difficulties namely (pretreatment inhibitors and cost of cellulase enzyme). In the present study, long term evolutionary adaptation was evaluated for ethanol and lactic acid production to overcome the pretreatment inhibitors issue. Saccharomyces cerevisiae Angel was used for the production of ethanol, while, Bacillus coagulans , Pediococcus sp. and Lactobacillus sp. were used for lactic production, respectively. All the microbial strains were inoculated on wheat straw hydrolysate and were monitored with regular interval until stable cell growth, glucose consumption, and, ethanol and lactic acid production. Fermentation performance of the adapted strain improved over parental strains. Ethanol and lactic acid yield reached to 90% and 75%, respectively, when using freshly pretreated wheat straw or wheat straw hydrolysate or rice straw as carbon source. On-site produced cellulase from Bacillus subtilis OCS SH-2 was applied in the saccharification of pretreated wheat straw and rice straw. There was no significant difference when commercial cellulase youtell#7 and onsite produced cellulase were used in saccharification of high solid wheat straw simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). However, onsite produced cellulase does not need enzyme purification, packing and transportation. Hence, the production of bioethanol and lactic acid cost reduced at large extent by using on-site produced cellulase in the saccharification of lignocellulosic material.

This study investigates the effect of barley (Hordeum vulgare), black plum (Syzygium cumini) and Chinese tree leaves (Pistacia chinesis) aqueous extracts on serum glucose, cholesterol, urea, uric acid level and body weight of normal and alloxan-induced diabetic male rabbits. Rabbits were kept in fasting condition for 12 h, then diabetes was induced using alloxan monohydrate (150 mg/Kg) . From the 7th day of diabetes induction, blood serum was collected for glucose analysis. Rabbits having fasting glucose level ≥ 250 mg/dL were considered as diabetic. Rabbits were treated with 1% barley, black plum and Chinese tree aqueous extract to check their effects on the serum glucose, serum cholesterol, serum urea, uric acid and body weight of the animals. Samples were collected after every 72 h for biochemical analysis. It was noted that 1% barley, black plum and Chinese tree aqueous extract reduced 43.92, 39.05 and 32.47% glucose level. Results suggest that oral administration of aqueous extract of barley, black plum and Chinese tree reduced glucose, cholesterol, urea, and uric acid level. Therefore, these medicinal plants should be supplemented as herbal drugs in the treatment of various complex diseases and specially to control diabetes. Key words: Chinese tree leaves, antidiabetic agents, barley, black plum, rabbits, diabetes mellitus.