A. K. Shah, G. A. Kandhro, A. Shah, Syed Nizam Uddin Shah Bukhari, Arshad Iqbal, Muhammad Azam Usto, Taswar Hussain Laghari, S. Ahmed
{"title":"Synthesis of Isopulegol Through Cyclisation of Citronellal Using Solid Acid Catalysts: Catalytic Reaction Performance Evaluation and Process Parameters Optimization","authors":"A. K. Shah, G. A. Kandhro, A. Shah, Syed Nizam Uddin Shah Bukhari, Arshad Iqbal, Muhammad Azam Usto, Taswar Hussain Laghari, S. Ahmed","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.04","url":null,"abstract":"The cyclisation of citronellal to isopulegol is a significant intermediate stage in the production of menthols. In this research work, the effects of acid treatment on montmorillonite clay have been investigated and used in citronellal cyclisation reactions. Furthermore, the effects of acid treatment and hetero-poly acid impregnation have been determined on the textural and catalytic properties of montmorillonite clay. The designed catalysts were characterized by XRD, N2 sorption, and NH3- TPD techniques. Acid treatment of montmorillonite resulted in the enhancement of surface area and pore volume. The catalytic activity and selectivity parameters were lessened due to the severe leaching of Al ions from tetrahedral crystalline structures (e.g., weakened structure and loss of acidity). Among all prepared materials, the heteropoly acid supported HCl treated montmorillonite catalyst was observed as a more active, stable, and selective catalyst that showed the highest catalytic performance in citronellal cyclisation under optimized process parameters. The catalytic activity and selectivity were enhanced with rising mesoporosity and acidity parameters due to HCl acid treatment and HPA impregnation.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44761687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluation of Groundwater Quality for Heavy Metals by Using Chemical Indices Approach in Karachi, Pakistan","authors":"A. Rahman, H. Abbasi, M. Owais","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.14","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.14","url":null,"abstract":"Freshwater consumption has been increased because of population growth and economic development. At the same time, depletion and contamination of groundwater is subject of great concern. Karachi is the industrial hub and serves as the economic backbone of Pakistan. The research aims to investigate the heavy metal pollution in the groundwater of Korangi Industrial Area, one of the largest industrial estates in Karachi. Eighteen representative locations were selected to collect groundwater samples and study the concentrations of heavy metals Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb. Pollution load index, Nemerow's pollution index, and geo accumulation index approaches were used to interpret the basic data. The average concentrations of the measured heavy metals were 354.67 µg.L-1 , 694.33 µg.L-1 , 39.2 µg.L-1 , 12.89 µg.L-1 , 9.5 µg.L-1 , and 6.17 µg.L-1 for Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, and Ni, respectively. The results showed that groundwater quality in the study area is poor and mainly contaminated by Pb and Fe.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43773204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Abbas, B. Sultana, A. Hussain, F. Anwar, N. Ahmad
{"title":"Antioxidant Potential, Phenolics Content and Antimicrobial Attributes of Selected Medicinal Plant","authors":"A. Abbas, B. Sultana, A. Hussain, F. Anwar, N. Ahmad","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.10","url":null,"abstract":"The bioactive extracts recovered from Curcuma longa (stem), Mentha aquatica (stem and leaves), Emblica officinalis (fruits), Nigella sativa (seeds), and Glycyrrhiza glabra (stem) using methanol and ethanol, were appraised for antioxidant (total flavonoid contents, total phenolic contents, DPPH free radical scavenging ability, inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation and reducing power) and antimicrobial attributes. Total phenolics (16.89 ± 0.18 - 25.06 ± 0.31g GAE/100g) and total flavonoids (1.96 ± 0.07 - 13.54 ± 0.18 CE g/100g) contents of aqueous methanol extracts of tested plant materials were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of aqueous ethanol extracts (13.87 ± 0.12 - 28.63 ± 0.34 g GAE/100g) and (2.20 ± 0.10 - 8.71 ± 0.24 CE /100g), respectively. The percent inhibition of linoleic acid per oxidation by crude ethanol extracts of plants was in the range of 48.72 ± 1.24 - 70.79 ± 1.57 and crude methanol extract 35.90 ± 1.28 - 61.54 ± 2.14, while the range of DPPH free radical scavenging activity of ethanol extracts was (58.36 ± 1.98 - 80.55 ± 3.07) and methanol extracts (39.55 ± 1.52 - 79.64± 2.33). The reducing power of the tested extracts obtained by ethanol (at the concentration of 10 mg/mL) ranged 1.11 ± 0.12 – 1.53 ± 0.18 while for methanol extracts 0.98 ± 0.11 – 1.39 ± 0.12. Among the attributes analyzed, total phenolics, total flavonoids, and DPPH free scavenging activity were found to be varied significantly in all the tested medicinal plants. The extracts from all plants showed good antimicrobial potential against a penal of bacteria, including E. coli, P. multocida and S. aureus, and fungi including A. niger, A. flavus, A. alternate, and G. lucidium. Overall, the tested samples were found to be a good source of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agents and thus can be explored for potential functional food and nutra-pharmaceutical applications.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45355187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. A. Lakho, Mansoor Ahmed, Muhammad Waseem Akhtar, M. Lal, U. Mughal, U. Aftab, Z. Ibupoto, S. Naz
{"title":"Synthesis and Characterization of Nickel Oxide Nanostructures for Electrochemical Analysis of Methotrexate","authors":"S. A. Lakho, Mansoor Ahmed, Muhammad Waseem Akhtar, M. Lal, U. Mughal, U. Aftab, Z. Ibupoto, S. Naz","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.06","url":null,"abstract":"Metal oxide nanoparticles have found numerous applications in different fields. In this paper, the preparation of nickel oxide nanostructures is given. The nanostructures were synthesized by using the hydrothermal method. The characterization was done with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The newly synthesized nanostructures were utilized as a modifier of the working electrode, i.e., glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The modified GCE exhibited an excellent response towards methotrexate (MTX) anticancer drug. The modified GCE, as compared to bare GCE, showed an increased response towards MTX. In this study, BrittonRobinson buffer (BRB) was selected as a supporting electrolyte having pH 5. By using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), the method was found linear in the range of 5-40 µM with a limit of detection and quantification values of 2.4 µM and 7.28 µM, respectively. The method developed by this way was successfully applied for the analysis of MTX from injection formulations. The interference studies were also carried out to check the method's selectivity.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44199619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimization and Characterization of Ultrasound-Assisted Pectin Extracted from Orange Waste","authors":"Ketema Beyecha Hundie","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.13","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of waste to valuable products is a hot topic with exploring ongoing worldwide to minimize food-based feedstocks. This work utilized a citric acid solution and an ultrasoundassisted to extract pectin from orange waste, a critical agroindustry byproduct. Artificial neural network and central composite design were utilized to assess the extraction of pectin using different levels of the extraction parameters and in turn to optimize the extraction process. The extraction of pectin from orange waste is found to be highly affected by pH solution and ultrasound power. The result of an artificial neural network was found to be better in terms of prediction capability and performance indexes. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis confirmed the existence of functional groups in the fingerprint region of orange waste pectin. Ash and crude protein content of orange wastes are found to be low; meaning low ash and protein content contributes to better gelling ability of the pectin. The extracted pectin has a higher degree of esterification. The result of the current work highlighted that orange wastes are a good source of pectin. In addition, the extracted pectin from orange wastes can be used as a food additive as it fulfills all the standard requirements pectin for application.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46620269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. R. Sidhu, S. Naz, S. Mahesar, Abdul Rauf Khaskheli
{"title":"Quality Assessment on the Oxidative Stability of Almond Kernels during Extensive Storage Time","authors":"A. R. Sidhu, S. Naz, S. Mahesar, Abdul Rauf Khaskheli","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.12","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of our study is to monitor the oxidative stability of different cultivars of almonds (Australian, American and Iranian) kernels/oil during the 12th month of storage at room temperature. Several physicochemical parameters free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV), panisidine value (p-AV), total oxidation value (TOTOX), Fourier transforms infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR) and Gas chromatography Mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to check the oxidative stability of almond kernel. According to the results, effects of room temperature in the early stages of oxidation, primary oxidation products remained stable, whereas secondary oxidation product levels continued to rise in the later stages. In general, FFA increased with increasing storage time, the range was observed (0.21-0.97 %), PV (1.31-16.23 meqO2/kg), p-AV (2.21-19.35), TOTOX (4.83-15.81), respectively. During storage at room temperature for up to 12th months, there was no significant shifting of the spectral band in the FT-IR study. The most bounteous fatty acid in the almond oil range was observed oleic acid C18:0 (71.01-79.56 %) followed by linoleic acid C18:2 (13.13–20.65 %), palmitic acid C16:0 (4.86-5.67 %), stearic acid C18:0 (1.20-3.81 %), and palmitoleic acid C16:1(0.21-0.47 %) in all three samples during storage. These results suggest that almond oil during the 12th month of storage keeps its good chemical properties.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46699323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Occurrence, Levels and Spatial Distribution of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers: Case Study of Elemi River in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria","authors":"O. Ibigbami","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.12.05","url":null,"abstract":"Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were seasonally determined in water and sediments of the Elemi River, Nigeria using gas chromatography analysis. Samples were collected in two consecutive seasons for six months, monitoring the program every month. Three BDEs congeners (28, 47 and 154) were only detected with the mean concentration of ND - 0.001 µg/L and ND - 0.143 µg/kg in water and sediments, respectively. BDEs (99, 100, 153, 183 and 209) were consistently absent in both seasons. The distribution of BDEs showed that BDE 28 was consistently found in the water samples throughout the months of sampling, while the sediments sparingly contained BDE 28 and 47. The study proposed the need for effective measures to reduce the deleterious contribution of these persistent compounds into the rivers.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45462769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparison of Adsorption Models for Determining Potassium Behavior in of Some Selected Soil Series","authors":"Nabeel Rizwan, Q. Khan","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.06.09","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.06.09","url":null,"abstract":"Potassium (K) availability to plants varies with the adsorption characteristics of soil, to evaluate the adsorption capacity, five soil series of different characteristics were used. K adsorption isotherms were performed by equilibrating 2.5 g soil samples with 10 levels of K (30-300 mg kg-1) as KCl in 0.01 CaCl2 solutions and shaken for 24 h at 25oC. The amount of K adsorbed ranged from 33.2 to 94.9% of added K. Freundlich model explained K adsorption behavior better than the other two equations. Higher coefficient of regression values 0.99, 0.97 and 0.96 were recorded in Sultanpur (Silt loam), Naivela (Fine sandy loam) and Bhutesar (Clay loam), respectively. The highest 1/n value 1.54 kg mg-1 and kf value 31.47 mg kg-1 of Freundlich isotherm were observed in Sultanpur (silt loam) due to high pH, high OM and high clay contents, lowest values of constants were observed in Wajan (loamy sand) with 1/n value 0.44 kg mg-1 and kf value 0.28 mg kg-1 might be due to high EC, high CaCO3 and sand contents. The K adsorption of soil varied with physico – chemical characteristics of soil, especially clay content, alkaline pH and organic matter content.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48621797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessment of Lichens as Biomonitors of Heavy Metal Pollution in Selected Mining Area, Slovakia","authors":"I. Salamon, R. Altarawneh","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.06.07","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.06.07","url":null,"abstract":"Lichens have widely been used as bioindicators to reflect the quality of the environment. The present study was conducted to investigate the lichens diversity that grows on the surface of waste heaps from an abandoned old copper mine in Mlynky, Slovakia. In spite of the heavy metalcontaminated environment, we documented twenty species of lichens in the selected site. Taxonomically the most numerous group were represented by Cladonia with seven species, as well other species; namely, Acarospora fuscata, Cetraria islandica, Dermatocarpon miniatum, Hypogymnia physodes, Hypogymnia tubulosa, Lecanora subaurea, Lepraria incana, Physcia aipolia, Porpidia macrocarpa, Pseudevernia furfuracea, Rhizocarpon geographicum and Xanthoria parietina. The content of selected heavy metals (Cu, Fe, and Zn) in the predominant lichens Cetraria islandica, Cladonia digitata, Cladonia pyxidata, Hypogymnia physodes and Pseudevernia furfuracea were analyzed. The highest content of Cu, Fe, and Zn was found in Cladonia pyxidata collected from mine-spoil heaps with concentration 46 ± 4.4, 82.5 ± 22.6, 4.8 ± 1.6 mg/kg, respectively. Interestingly, Cladonia pyxidata collected from the forest surrounding the location showed 15 times lower concentration for Cu. Additionally, similar results were found for Fe and Zn.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45205216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Mirjatt, I. Khushk, Hiba Zahid, A. S. Qureshi, M. A. Bhutto, Bushra Watoor
{"title":"Environmental Friendly Production of Amylase from Aspergillus niger EFRL-FC-024 Using Corn Waste as Carbon Source","authors":"A. Mirjatt, I. Khushk, Hiba Zahid, A. S. Qureshi, M. A. Bhutto, Bushra Watoor","doi":"10.21743/pjaec/2021.06.17","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.06.17","url":null,"abstract":"Amylase is an indispensable and industrially important enzyme that hydrolyzes carbohydrates particularly starch into simple sugars. Amylase enzymes have been isolated from various sources such as microbes, animals and plants. However, microorganisms are highly preferred as compared to plants and animal sources. Amylases of fungal origin are highly stable compared to amylases produced by bacterial species. The aim of this study was to investigate the production of extracellular amylase enzyme from Aspergillus niger EFRL-FC-024 using sugarcane bagasse and corn waste as an energy source under submerge fermentation conditions. Primarily, the fungal strain was grown for 6 days using sugarcane bagasse and corn waste, respectively. Mainly, the growth of a microorganism was also evaluated using different pH, temperature and incubation periods. The results revealed maximum amylase production of 1.64 U/mL when A. niger was cultured for 96 h using corn waste. Moreover, addition of different nitrogen sources showed the highest amylase production when peptone was supplemented as a nitrogen source. Finally, the effect of pH indicated maximal concentration of amylase enzyme at pH 6.0. The present study will highly be beneficial to explore the role of fungal strain A. niger in amylase production at Industrial levels.","PeriodicalId":19846,"journal":{"name":"Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43396978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}