3-Hydroxypropionic Acid as an Antibacterial Agent from Endophytic Fungi Diaporthe phaseolorum

Endophytic fungi are considered a rich source of active compounds resulting from their secondary metabolism. Fungi from marine environment grow in a habitat with unique conditions that can contribute to the activation of metabolic pathways of synthesis of different unknown molecules. The production of these compounds may support the adaptation and survival of the fungi in the marine ecosystem. Mangroves are ecosystems situated between land and sea. They are frequently found in tropical and subtropical areas and enclose approximately 18.1 million hectares of the planet. The great biodiversity found in these ecosystems shows the importance of researching them, including studies regarding new compounds derived from the endophytic fungi that inhabit these ecosystems. 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HPA) has been isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus Diaporthe phaseolorum, which was obtained from branches of Laguncularia racemosa. The structure of this compound was elucidated by spectroscopic methods, mainly 1D and 2D NMR. In bioassays, 3-HPA showed antimicrobial activities against both Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi. The structure of this antibiotic was modified by the chemical reaction of Fischer-Speier esterification to evaluate the biologic activity of its chemical analog. The esterified product, 3-hydroxypropanoic ethyl ester, did not exhibit antibiotic activity, suggesting that the free carboxylic acid group is important to the pharmacological activity. The antibiotic-producing strain was identified with internal transcribed spacer sequence data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of antibacterial activity by 3-HPA against the growth of medically important pathogens.

Carboxymethyl lignin as stabilizing agent in aqueous ceramic suspensions

Identifying new uses for residues of industries that process large quantities of biomass, as in bioethanol production, is essential for a sustainable development with reduced impact on the environment, which is the reason why many efforts have been devoted to find noble uses for lignins. in this study, a lignin obtained from sugarcane bagasse in a bioethanol producing plant was carboxymethylated to yield the water-soluble carboxymethyl lignin (CML), which was then used as stabilizing agent in aqueous alumina (Al2O3) suspensions. CML had a degree of substitution 0.46 +/- 0.01, in relation to the C9 unit of lignin, and behaved as a polyelectrolyte in a large pH range owing to the dissociation of carboxylic groups. The action of CML as stabilizing agent of alumina aqueous suspensions was investigated using viscometry, zeta potential, and photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) measurements, mainly as a function of pH and time. Overall, the results showed that CML had a good performance as a deflocculating agent, because it led to dispersions with low viscosity and small change in particle size as a function of time. The positive effect from the addition of CML was confirmed in the morphological features of the material obtained from the alumina suspensions after elimination of water, as indicated by scanning electron microscopy. The stabilization of alumina suspensions afforded by CML opens the way for similar applications of modified lignins, whose electrical and structural properties may be tuned for specific uses in various industries, including the ceramic industry. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.