Activity of dehydroabietic acid derivatives against wood contaminant fungi.

The antifungal activity of 10 dehydroabietic acid derivatives with different configuration in A and B rings (cis/trans A/B junction) and different substituents and/or functionalities was evaluated in bioassays in vitro and in situ (pine wood blocks). The test compounds dissolved in acetone were assayed at several concentrations w/w (test compound/culture medium) against the fungi. The Relative Inhibition (RI) was determined by measuring the radial growth of colonies of the fungi treated with the test compounds by comparison with those of control cultures; the results are expressed as EC(50).

Phenotypic characterization of food waste degrading Bacillus strains isolated from aerobic bioreactors.

A phenotypic characterization of seventeen Bacillus strains isolated from aerobic thermophilic bioreactors of a food waste processing company was carried out, using fatty acid and enzymatic activity profiles. It was observed that each species possessed a typical fatty acid and enzymatic production profile. Bacillus licheniformis strains exhibited the most significant enzyme production.