Browsing by Author "Amin, Ayman"

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The hidden hazardous effects of stevia and sucralose consumption in male and female albino mice in comparison to sucrose
(ORCID, 2020-09) Farid, Alyaa; Hesham, Marim; El-Dewak, Mohamed; Amin, Ayman
Replacing sucrose with non-caloric sweeteners is an approach to avoid overweight and diabetes development. Non-caloric sweeteners are classified into either artificial as sucralose or natural as stevia. Both of them have been approved by FDA, but the effects of their chronic consumption are controversial. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of these two sweeteners, in male and female albino mice, on different blood biochemical parameters, enzymes activities and immunological parameters after 8 and 16 weeks of sweeteners administration. 40.5 mg/ml of sucrose, 5.2 mg/ml of sucralose and 4.2 mg/ml of stevia were dissolved individually in distilled water. Mice were administrated by sweetener's solution for 5 hours daily. Male and female mice showed a preference for water consumption with sucralose or stevia. Both of the two sweeteners significantly reduced hemoglobin level, HCT%, RBCs and WBCs count. After 18 weeks, significant elevations in liver and kidney function enzymes were observed in male and female mice administrated with both non-caloric sweeteners. Histopathological examination in sucralose and stevia administrated groups confirmed the biochemical results; where it revealed a severe damage in liver and kidney sections. While, sucrose administration elevated, only, the levels of ALT, AST and cholesterol in male mice. A vigorous elevation in levels of different immunoglobulin (IgG, IgE and IgA) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and -8), that was accompanied by a significant reduction in level of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, was observed in male and female mice groups administrated with sucralose or stevia. On the other hand, sucrose administration caused an elevation in IgA and reduction in IL-10 levels.
Multiwalled carbon nanotubes@pectin/κ-carrageenan-based nanocomposite biohydrogel prepared by gamma irradiation for efficient methylene blue dye sequestration
(John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2024-03) Aboelkhir, Doaa M; Sayed, Asmaa; Eldondaity, Leila S; Joseph, Veronica; Amin, Ayman; Mahmoud, Ghada A
This study addresses the critical issue of removing toxic dyes from industrial wastewater to protect the environment and human health. To address this challenge, a bio-based composite hydrogel was synthesized using gamma irradiation, 20 kGy, incorporating multiwalled carbon nanotubes@pectin/κ-carrageenan/polyacrylic acid (MWCNTs PC/KC/PAAc) for removing methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solutions. The prepared composites underwent characterization through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analyses. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis demonstrated a significant increase in surface area upon the addition of MWCNTs. Specifically, the surface area increased from 342.5 m2 g−1 for PC/KC/PAAc to 689.5 m2 g−1 when 0.175 wt% of MWCNTs were added. Also, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were utilized to examine the surface topography of PC/KC/PAAc and MWCNTs@PC/KC/PAAc. The results reveal that at 0.175 wt% of MWCNTs, there was a more uniform surface topography with well-distributed MWCNTs within the matrix. In the adsorption study of MB dye, it was found that the highest MB removal efficiency was achieved at pH 11, with values of 68.21% and 96% for PC/KC/PAAc and MWCNTs@PC/KC/PAAc, respectively. Furthermore, upon studying the effect of MWCNTs (%), the results showed that the removal (%) of PC/KC/PAAc was 68.21 ± 1.02%, and this percentage increased rapidly with the addition of MWCNTs, reaching a maximum of 96 ± 0.85% when 0.175 (wt%) of MWCNTs was added. Isotherm and kinetic modeling demonstrated that MB adsorption follows the Freundlich isotherm for PC/KC/PAAc and the Redlich–Peterson isotherm for MWCNTs@PC/KC/PAAc, both following a pseudo-second-order kinetics model. In addition, from AFM data, after MB removal, the height increased significantly from 322 nm for PC/KC/PAAc to 810 nm for MWCNTs@PC/KC/PAAc (0.175 wt%), indicating a substantially higher adsorption of MB by MWCNTs@PC/KC/PAAc.
Role of Trehalose during Recovery from Drought Stress in Micropropagated Banana (Musa spp.) Transplants.
(RJPBCS RESEARCH JOURNAL PHARMACEUTICAL, BIOLOGICAL & CHEMICAL SCIENCES, 2017) A. Mahmoud, Rania; S. Hassan, Osama; Abou-Hashish, Ahmed; Amin, Ayman
Micropropagated banana (Musa spp.) plants are widely accepted by growers as valuable, pathogen-free stock materials. Water stress is believed to adversely affect growth and yield of banana plants, as banana plants requires water in sufficient quantity for their normal metabolic activities. Trehalose is one of the organic substances currently known to be involved in osmotic adjustment, a significant strategy for plant drought tolerance. The current study was aimed to assess the role of trehalose as a presoaking treatment at 0, 20, 60 or 100 mM in improving tolerance of banana plantlets under in vitro drought stress conditions and following transitional period required in preparation for planting in the field. The pretreatment of 20 mM trehalose enhanced growth of banana plantlets under in vitro drought stress conditions in terms of root system and fresh weight. Non of in vitro stressed un-pretreated plantlets succeeded to continue grow during recovery stage in the green house. Results showed markedly higher indicators of growth recovery in banana transplants previously supplied with 20 mM trehalose. This growth improvement was accompanied with enhancement of chemical composition in terms of increasing pigments and reducing total free amino acids contents to reach almost normal levels in addition to higher total phenols content and overall antioxidant activity even more than control plants. Sodium Dodicyl Sulphate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis showed over expressed protein band of 32 kDa molecular weight in recovered transplants pretreated with the highest trehalose concentration (100 mM). Recovered transplants pretreated with trehalose at the lowest concentration (20 mM) showed balanced up regulation of both trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) and trehalase genes over control, while recovered transplants pretreated with trehalose at the highest concentration (100 mM) showed also over expression of TPS gene but down regulation of trehalase gene under control.