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High intake of monosodium glutamate (MSG) – containing foods was reported as a major health problem in Egypt. Thus, dietary interventions aim to prevent the deleterious effects of this additive were badly needed. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of concurrent consumption of MSG and Spirulina (S. platensis) on body weight as well as hepato-renal functions and histopathology in female rats. Twenty adult female albino rats were divided into four equal groups, including the control group, while groups 2 to 4 were administered 6 mg MSG/kg body weight daily, and kept untreated (group 2), or concurrently fed pelleted balanced diet supplemented with 0.5 and 1 % of Spirulina powder for 6 weeks (groups 3 and 4, respectively). At the end, body weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency ratio were calculated. Liver and kidney functions were determined in sera, while oxidative stress markers were determined in liver and kidney tissue homogenates. Moreover, specimens from liver and kidney of sacrificed rats were histopathologically examined. On the other hand, phenolic profile of Spirulina powder was identified and quantified by HPLC. Findings indicated that MSG consumption resulted in overweight, liver and kidney dysfunction along with oxidative stress, which was further confirmed by histological staining. Due to the high content of phenolic compounds rather than other antioxidant agents, Spirulina powder exerted anti-obesity properties and alleviated the toxic hepato-renal effects caused by MSG consumption. So, dietary supplementation of MSG –containing food products with Spirulina powder is recommended to prevent its accompanied health abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultivation of microalgae as a source of phytosterol and other lipid compounds has gained more attention for commercial applications in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food function industries. In this research, native Spirulina maxima SM from Egypt was grown in individual cultures containing various concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S) elements in order to elucidate the effect of its elements on lipid and phytosterols production and to evaluate its antioxidant and antiproliferative activities. The results revealed that the SM was able to grow in different concentrations of testing elements S (from 0.3 to 2.4 mM), P (from 0.3 to 2.4 mM) and N (0.3 to 3.2 mM) with significant differences. A high potential for production of MS biomass, total lipid and phytosterol contents were obtained in individual cultures containing 0.6 mM N, 0.6 mM P and 0.80 mM, respectively. Therefore, these concentrations (combination of S+P+N element) were selected for cultivation of SM at large scale in a column photobioreactor (PBR 300 L) to induce sufficient SM biomass so that, we can obtain an adequate amount of total lipid and phytosterol contents. Phytosterols (PS) of native SM grown in the 300 L PBR were partially purified from unsaponified extracts of SM total lipid followed by its purification by crystallization process. The identification and quantification of PS profile were performed by GC-FID analysis. The results revealed high levels of campsterol, D7-Avena sterol, (β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and other compounds. These PS compounds showed marked in vitro superoxide, DPPH and OH radical scavenging activity, which was comparable with the results obtained with standard antioxidants BHA or α-tocopherol. Moreover, SM phytosterols exhibited anti-proliferative activity against three human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, Hep-G2 and HCT-116) with IC50 values less than 11.62 μg/mL as assessed by in vitro MTT colorimetric method. Thus, SM phytosterol may be considered as a potential natural source of promising ingredient in the future for a range of health applications for human, cosmetic industries and in functional food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mariculture of Tridacna is greatly affected by pathogenic bacteria including those of vibrio species that result in high losses The present work was designed to investigate the most common bacterial infections of indoor aquarium and offshore cages culture Tridacna maxima and Tridacna gigas in Hurghada, red sea governorate, Egypt. Eighty Specimens of booth Tridacna maxima and Tridacna gigas in indoor aquarium and in offshore cages were subjected to clinical and bacteriological examination. The bacteria were recovered from gills, gut mantel and gonads of collected Tridacna samples. Decrease in movement and loss of attractive color pattern with 25 % and 20 % mortality rate were detected in indoor cultured Tridacna maxima and Tridacna nagigas respectively, while no changes in clinical picture or postmortem findings were detected in offshore cages culture Tridacna. 46 bacterial isolates were obtained and were identified by phenotypicall characterization and biochemical tests as Vibrio logei, V harveyi and unidentified Vibrio species. Experimental infection with V. logei proven its pathogenicity to Tridacna with 30% mortality rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]