Browsing by Author "Rungqu, Pamela"

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    Extraction, characterization, and antioxidant activity of pectin from lemon peels
    (MDPI, 2024-08-16) Dambuza, Anathi; Rungqu, Pamela; Oyedeji, Adebola Omowunmi; Miya, Gugulethu M.; Kuria, Simon K.; Hosu, Sunday Yiseyon; Oyedeji, Opeoluwa Oyehan; Vasantha, H. P.
    Pectin is a natural polymer that is found in the cell walls of higher plants. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of pectin extracted from lemon in two different geographic regions (Peddie and Fort Beaufort) in two consecutive years (2023 and 2024) named PP 2023, PP 2024, FBP 2023, and FBP 2024. The dried lemon peels were ground into a powder, sifted to obtain particles of 500 µm, and then subjected to pectin extraction using a conventional method involving mixing lemon peel powder with distilled water, adjusting the pH level to 2.0 with HCl, heating the mixture at 70 ◦C for 45 min, filtering the acidic extract, and precipitating pectin with ethanol. The yield of these pectin samples was statistically significant, as FBP 2024 had a maximum yield of 12.2 ± 0.02%, PP 2024 had a maximum yield of 13.0 ± 0.02%, FBP 2023 had a maximum yield of 12.2 ± 0.03%, and PP 2023 had a maximum yield of 13.1 ± 0.03%, The variation in yield could be due to the differences in the growing conditions, such as the climate and soil, which could have affected the pectin content in the lemons. The physicochemical characterization of all samples proved that our pectin samples could be used in the pharmaceutical and food industries, with anhydrouronic acid content which was greater than 65%, as suggested by the FAO. The scanning electron microscope analysis of all extracted pectin was rough and jagged, while the commercial pectin displayed a smooth surface morphology with a consistent size. FTIR confirmed the functional groups which were present in our samples. Thermogravimetric analysis was employed to investigate the thermal behavior of the extracted pectin in comparison with commercial pectin. It was found that the extracted pectin had three-step degradation while the commercial pectin had four step degradation. Additionally, pectin samples have been shown to have antioxidants, as the IC50 of PP 2024, PP 2023, FBP 2023, FBP 2024, and Commercial P was 1062.5 ± 20.0, 1201.3 ± 22.0, 1304.6 ± 19.0, 1382.6 ± 29.9, and 1019.4 ± 17.1 mg/L, respectively. These findings indicate that lemon pectin has promising characteristics as a biopolymer for use in biomedical applications.
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    Isolation, Characterisation, and biological activity evaluation of essential Oils of Cymbopogon validus (Stapf) Stapf ex Burtt Davy and Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf.
    (University of Fort Hare, 2015) Rungqu, Pamela; Oyedeji, A.O.
    Cymbopogon validus and Hyparrhenia hirta belong to the Poaceae botanical family. Both plants are used as thatching material; H. hirta is also used for weaving mats and baskets. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of C. validus and H. hirta essential oils on fresh egg-albumin induced edema on Wistar rats. To fully understand the chemically induced anti-inflammatory properties of these plants, we first analyzed the chemical composition of the essential oils. The essential oils were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In C. validus, 13 compounds accounted for 74.3% of fresh leaves oil, 14 compounds 71.8% of dried leaves oil and 12 compounds 73.3% of flower oil were identified from the GC-MS Chromatogram. The percentage yields were as follows fresh leaves oil 2.2%, dried leaves oil 2.0% and flower oil 2.4% v/w respectively. Linalool (3.2-29.6%) and northujane (4.4-16.9%) were the dominant compounds found in the 3 oils analyzed. While, α-terpineol 37.5% and verbenone 13.5% was only found in the fresh leaf oil, this was absent in the dried leaves oil and the flowers oil of C. validus. In H. hirta, 25 compounds accounted for 68.1% of fresh leaves oil, 40 compounds 71.9% of dried leaves oil, 23 compounds 77.6% of fresh flowers oil and 18 compounds 80.1% of dried flowers oil were identified from the GC-MS Chromatogram. The percentage yields obtained from the different parts were 3.4% for fresh leaves oil, 2.8% for dried leaves oil, 2.8% for fresh flowers oil and 0.7% for dried flowers oil v/w respectively. Northujane (8.5-30.0%), diisooctyl phthalate (4.4-26.5%), phytone (1.1-10.4%) were the dominant compounds found in the 4 oils analyzed. While, dibutyl phthalate 26.9% was only found in the fresh flowers and was absent in the dried flowers oil. Moreover, caryophyllene oxide (1.7-9.6%) was found in fresh leaves and dried flowers oil of H. hirta. In vivo analysis revealed that the two essential oils displayed significant edema inhibition effect overtime. They displayed strong anti-inflammatory properties when compared to control group. However, the H. hirta essential oil was more effective than that of C. validus. Linalool, α-terpineol, and northujane extracted from C. validus and H. hirta essential oils might have contributed to the anti-inflammatory effects observed in Wistar rats. This study, confirms the anti-inflammatory properties of C. validus and H. hirta suggesting that they may be used in diseases related to anti-inflammation.