Effect of extracts and isolated compounds derived from Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss. on anti-aging gene expression in human keratinocytes and antioxidant activity.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Moroccan folk medicine treats skin cicatrization with Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss. locally named "Rtem", but the mechanism involved is still not well known.

[Seasonal variations of metal contents (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) in seaweed Ulva lactuca from the coast of El Jadida city (Morocco)].

The quality of El Jadida Atlantic coastal water was monitored from April 1998 to March 1999 by measuring hydrological parameters (dissolved oxygen, suspended particulate matter, phosphates and nitrites) and using the seaweed Ulva lactuca as a quantitative bio-indicator of cadmium, copper, iron, manganese and zinc contamination. Metal content in seaweeds, collected every month from four stations characterized by the discharge of urban and industrial waste water, showed significant variations depending on the station and sampling period. However, the seaweed of El Jadida exhibited generally lower contents compared to those of similar species from other geographical areas.

Production of a polyunsaturated isoprenoid wax ester during aerobic metabolism of squalene by Marinobacter squalenivorans sp. nov.

This paper describes the production of 5,9,13-trimethyltetradeca-4E,8E,12-trienyl-5,9,13-trimethyltetradeca-4E,8E,12-trienoate during the aerobic degradation of squalene by a Marinobacter strain, 2Asq64, isolated from the marine environment. A pathway involving initial cleavage of the C(10)-C(11) or C(14)-C(15) double bonds of the squalene molecule is proposed to explain the formation of this polyunsaturated isoprenoid wax ester. The isoprenoid wax ester content reached 1.

Anaerobic biodegradation of squalene: Using DGGE to monitor the isolation of denitrifying Bacteria taken from enrichment cultures.

Abstract The process of enrichment and subsequently isolation of squalene degrading denitrifying bacteria has been developed. The enrichment method used in this study targeted denitrifying bacteria, therefore an initial enrichment incubation using nitrate amendments under anaerobic conditions was performed before squalene amendment. Denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified DNA fragments prepared from extracted DNA was used to compare the composition of bacterial communities at various steps of enrichment cultures and the diversity of the 80 isolated strains obtained by classical culture methods.

Aerobic and anaerobic metabolism of squalene by a denitrifying bacterium isolated from marine sediment.

The aerobic and anaerobic metabolism of the isoprenoid alkene squalene was investigated in a new type of marine denitrifying bacterium, strain 2sq31, isolated from marine sediment. Strain 2sq31 was identified as a species of Marinobacter. Under denitrifying conditions, the strain efficiently degraded squalene; of 0.