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Microalgae cells have the potential to rapidly accumulate lipids, such as triacylglycerides that contain fatty acids important for high value fatty acids (e.g., EPA and DHA) and/or biodiesel production. However, lipid extraction methods for microalgae cells are not well established, and there is currently no standard extraction method for the determination of the fatty acid content of microalgae. This has caused a few problems in microlagal biofuel research due to the bias derived from different extraction methods. Therefore, this study used several extraction methods for fatty acid analysis on marine microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8, aiming to assess the potential impact of different extractions on current microalgal lipid research. These methods included classical Bligh & Dyer lipid extraction, two other chemical extractions using different solvents and sonication, direct saponification and supercritical CO 2 extraction. Soxhlet-based extraction was used to weigh out the importance of solvent polarity in the algal oil extraction. Coupled with GC/MS, a Thermogravimetric Analyser was used to improve the quantification of microalgal lipid extractions. Among these extractions, significant differences were observed in both, extract yield and fatty acid composition. The supercritical extraction technique stood out most for effective extraction of microalgal lipids, especially for long chain unsaturated fatty acids. The results highlight the necessity for comparative analyses of microalgae fatty acids and careful choice and validation of analytical methodology in microalgal lipid research.

The objective was to review the effects of the drying and storage conditions of corn on the physical–chemical quality in the processing of starch and flour, in the production of animal feed, and in the industrialization of ethanol. Initially, the review presented an overview of the post-harvest stages of corn grains, highlighting drying and storage. The main drying and storage methods used for corn grains were presented. Among the drying conditions, the air temperature was the main factor that affected the properties of starch, flour, feed, and ethanol produced from corn. It was verified that the corn grains submitted to drying at temperatures below 60 °C obtained better results in the industry. In storage, in addition to the storage time, factors such as temperature and moisture content of the grains affected the physical–chemical quality of the processed products. In this stage, the moisture content below 14% and the storage temperature below 25 °C conserved the physical–chemical quality of the grains and obtained better processing results. Further studies are needed to assess the effects of the drying and storage conditions of corn on the properties of flour, starch, animal feed, and, mainly, ethanol production.

Anthocyanin pigments, which the peel of eggplant is rich in, contribute to food quality because of their function in color, appearance, and nutritional advantages. For the first time, this study aimed to optimize the composition of the extracting solvent as three factors: factor A (ratio of ethanol to methanol 0–100% v/v), factor B (ratio of water to alcohol 0–100% v/v), and factor C (citric acid in the final solvent 0–1% w/v) using response surface methodology (RSM), central composite design (CCD) with α 2, and two repeats in axial and factorial points and four central points, for maximum total phenolic content, total anthocyanin content, extraction yield, antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay of the eggplant peel dry extract assisted by ultrasound (200 watts power, frequency of 28 kHz) in 60 °C for 45 min has been investigated. The best optimal formulas determined using RSM for the final solvent comprised optimal formula 1 (i.e., ethanol-to-methanol ratio 59% and water-to-alcohol ratio 0%, and citric acid in final solvent 0.47%), and optimal formula 2 (i.e., ethanol-to-methanol ratio 67% and water-to-alcohol ratio 0%, and citric acid in final solvent 0.56%). In general, an alcoholic–acidic extract of eggplant peel made with an ethanol–methanol solvent including citric acid can be used in the food industry as a natural source of antioxidants and pigment.

Strawberry tree is a spontaneous and typical shrub of the Mediterranean region, known for traditional use of its fruits and leaves due to their health benefits. Previous results have indicated that strawberry tree is an important source of phytochemical compounds with interesting biological activities for pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. This richness in bioactive compounds offers great prospects for the domestication of this plant is interesting. In this context, we aim to study the effect of provenance on phenolic compounds, in order to determine the parameters of variation of these compounds. The collection of samples was carried out in different biogeographical regions of Morocco where this species thrives. Extraction is effected by maceration in methanol to obtain dry extracts for the quantification of phenolic compounds. Total polyphenol and flavonoid content were determined using the colorimetric method with visible spectrophotometer. A variance between the populations in terms of morphological traits and rates of secondary compounds (polyphenols, flavonoids, condensed tannins, and reducing power) is well noted. Correlations between certain studied traits and environmental conditions are registered. Morphological traits and extract yield constitute good criteria for the selection of natural populations of strawberry tree in Morocco.

The study of the phenolic compounds present in olive leaves (Olea europaea) is of great interest due to their health benefits. In this research, different machine learning algorithms such as RF, SVM, and ANN, with temperature, time, and volume as input variables, were developed to model the extract yield and the total phenolic content (TPC) from experimental data reported in the literature. In terms of extract yield, the neural network-based ANNZ-L model presents the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) value in the validation phase (9.44 mg/g DL), which corresponds with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 3.7%. On the other hand, the best model to determine the TPC value was the neural network-based model ANNR, with an RMSE of 0.89 mg GAE/g DL in the validation phase (MAPE of 2.9%). Both models obtain, for the test phase, MAPE values of 4.9 and 3.5%, respectively. This affirms that ANN models would be good modelling tools to determine the extract yield and TPC value of the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) process of olive leaves under different temperatures, times, and solvents.

This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of spraying nano chitosan loaded with NPK fertilizer and nettle leaf and green tea extracts on the growth and productivity of potato for the spring and fall seasons of 2021.It was conducted at private farm in Wasit Governorate, Iraq, as a factorial experiment (5 × 5) within randomized complete block design using three replicates. The first factor included spraying with four concentrations of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with NPK fertilizer 0, 10. 15 and 20% in addition to chemical fertilization treatment, the second factor was spraying nettle leaf extract 25 and 35 gL-1 and green tea extract with 2 and 4 g.L-1, in addition to the control treatment, spraying with distilled water only. The results showed a significant superiority of the interaction between spraying with Nano chitosan loaded with NPK at a concentration of 15% and spraying green tea extract at a concentration of 4 g L-1 significantly in producing the highest plant height 62.77 and 60.86 cm, number of main stems of the plant 4.45 and 4.36 stem for the both seasons respectively and mean of tuber weight (111.0 g tuber-1) for the spring season which increased the productivity of tuber yield (56.3 and 51.6 in  ton ha-1 for both seasons, respectively).

The objective of this study was to investigate the response of Japanese and Polish soybean varieties to algal extract in terms of yield and other agronomic traits. A field experiment was conducted in 2019 at Pawlowice Experimental Station near Wroclaw city (Poland) to study the effect of a foliar spray of the algal extract prepared from freshwater Cladophora glomerata on the growth of two varieties of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill.)—Polish Erica and Japanese Enrei—cultivated under Polish environmental conditions. The foliar spray was applied once during the beginning of the soybean flowering (BBCH65) at one concentration (20%) of algal extract. The research showed that the foliar application of C. glomerata extract significantly enhanced the yield parameters. The plant height, first pod height, number of first branches, 1000-seed weight and yield were significantly higher compared with the control. The home variety Erica was better adapted to the climatic conditions in Poland than the Japanese variety Enrei. The study confirms that a foliar spray of algal extracts could be a promising option to increase soybean yield. The enhanced growth of the crop may be due to the presence of growth-promoting substances occurring in the algal extract.

This study was aimed to investigate effect of minerals, organic and bio- fertilizers on yield and quality of three synthetics varieties of maize. A field experiments were applied at the research station of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences - University of Baghdad during 2019 and at Abu Ghraib research station during 2020, using randomized complete block design (RCBD) within split-plot arrangement with three replicates. The experiments included two factors, the first in the main plots represented three synthetic varieties of maize, while the second in the sub plots represented five fertilizer treatments. The results showed that bhooth 5018 variety was superior in grain yield during second season, and oil at first season, while Baghdad 3 was superior in number of rows ear-1 in the first season produced highest mean 14.98 row ear-1.While the fertilizer treatment (50% mineral fertilizer + 10% algae extract) was superior in both seasons in grain yield (9077, 7745 kg.h-1) respectively, and most of yield components. The treatment of 100% mineral fertilizer was superior in first season in weight of 500 grains (111.78g).

In this work, the influences of particle size and solid-liquid ratio on the kinetics of green solid-liquid extraction of andrographolide from (AP) were investigated. Kinetic experiments were performed in a pressurized liquid extractor under isothermal conditions at 80°C by varying the average particle size and solid-liquid ratio at various times. The identification and quantification of andrographolide concentration in the water extracts were carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Kinetic data were fitted into first-order and second-order kinetics models with good correlation coefficients and coefficients of determination. However, the second-order rate law shows a better agreement with the experimental data. It was found that the observed specific extraction rate constants, , increased to nearly twofold from 6.53×10 l mg min to 1.28×10 l mg min for solid-liquid ratio of 1:10 g ml when particle size was decreased from 1.200 mm to 0.175 mm. In addition, increased over fivefold, 3.44×10 l mg min and almost fourfold, 4.96×10 l mg min , for particle sizes of 1.200 mm and 0.175 mm with an overall rise of more than sevenfold when the solid-liquid ratio was increased to 1:50 g ml , respectively. Therefore, significantly increases with a decrease in particle size and an increase in solid-liquid ratio.

Nowadays, there has been an increasing demand for organic agricultural products as biofertilizer that are safe for humans, livestock, environment and economically viable to reduce the negative effect of stresses on plants and stimulate crop production. Salinity is a major issue that adversely affects plant growth and productivity. The current study was carried out to investigate changes in the growth, biochemical parameters, and yield of wheat plant in response to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) at 1% and two levels of yeast extract at 1% and 2% under the effect of salinity levels at 4 dS/m and 8 dS/m. Results show that salinity stress caused significant decreases in vegetative growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments, indole acetic acid (IAA), grains yield/plant, carbohydrate content accompanied by significant increases in two osmolytes (total soluble sugars and proline), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant enzymes (Peroxidase, POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), some antioxidant substances of the yielded grains total phenolic, flavonoid, lycopene, β‑carotene and antioxidant activity (DPPH). The deleterious effect of salinity at 8 dS/m was more than that of salinity at 4 dS/m. Since, salinity at 4 dS/m caused non significant decreases in grains yield/plant by 8.25%. Whereas, salinity at 8 dS/m significantly decreased grains yield/plant by 15.73% relative to control. Nevertheless, all applied treatments (AMF, yeast extract at 1% and 2%) alleviated the deleterious effect of both salinity levels (4 dS/m and 8 dS/m) by improving vegetative growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments, IAA, total soluble sugars and proline, H2O2, MDA, antioxidant enzymes (POD, SOD, CAT), grains yield/plant, and some biochemical constituents of the yielded grains. The most pronounced treatment was 2% yeast extract that increased shoot dry weight/plant by 48.33% under 4 dS/m salinity level and by 69.32% under 8 dS/m salinity level relative to corresponding controls. In addition, AMF, 1% yeast extract, and 2% yeast extract significantly increased grains yield/plant by 17.89%, 24.12%, and 35.41% respectively under 8 dS/m salinity stress relative to control. It could be concluded that the promotive effect of yeast extract at 2% > yeast extract at 1% > AMF in increasing wheat salinity tolerance and decreasing harmful effect of salinity on wheat growth, grain yield quality and quantity.