@iau.edu.sa
Biology Department
College of Science -Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University
Scopus Publications
Essam Kotb, Amira H. Alabdalall, Azzah I. Alghamdi, Ibtisam M. Ababutain, Sumayh A. Aldakeel, Safa K. Al-Zuwaid, Batool M. Algarudi, Sakina M. Algarudi, Asmaa A. Ahmed, and Ahmed M. Albarrag
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractForty-six promising chitinolytic isolates were recovered during a screening for chitinolytic bacteria in the environment of Saudi Arabia. The top three isolates belonged to the genus Streptomyces. Streptomyces variabilis Am1 was able to excrete the highest amount of chitinases, reaching the maximum at 84 h with 0.5% yeast extract and nitrogen source and 2% galactose as a carbon source. Purification of chitinase by DEAE-Cellulose and Sephadex G75 improved the specific activity to 18.6-fold and the recovery to 23.8% and showed a mass at 56 kDa. The optimal catalysis of the purified chitinase was at 40 °C and pH 8 with high thermostability and pH stability as reflected by a midpoint temperature value of 66.6 °C and stability at pH 4–9. The protein reagents SDS, EDTA, and EGTA significantly inhibited the enzyme and the EDTA-chelated chitinase restored its activity after the addition of Fe2+ ions suggesting a metallo-chitinase type with ferric ions as cofactors. Chitinase exerted high antifungal activity against some phytopathogenic fungi. Interestingly, the tested Streptomyces were able to produce chitosan nanocubes along with chitosan from chitin degradation which may be an additional power in their antifungal activity in nature. This work also reveals the importance of unexplored environments as a pool of promising microorganisms with biotechnological applications.
Samar A. Abubshait, Haya A. Abubshait, Rasha Almalih, Mohamed S. Gomaa, Muhammad Nawaz, Ibtisam M. Ababutain, and Azzah I. Alghamdi
Wiley
Amira H. Alabdalall, Fatimah A. Aldakheel, Ibtisam M. Ababutain, Hanen Chakroun, Azzah I. Alghamdi, Ines Hammami, Sahar K. Al Dosary, Tamer E. Youssef, Ahmed M. Albarrag, Sumayh A. Aldakeel,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Abstract2,6-Dichlorophenol (2,6-DCP) is an aromatic compound with industrial importance in making insecticides, herbicides, and other organic compounds. However, it poses serious health and ecological problems. Microbial degradation of 2,6-DCP has been widely applied due to its effectiveness and eco-friendly characteristics. In this study, Trichoderma longibraciatum was isolated from an industrial soil sample in Dammam, Saudi Arabia using the enrichment method of mineral salt's medium (MSM) amended with 2,6-DCP. Morphological and molecular identification (using the internal transcribed spacer rRNA gene sequencing) of the 2,6-DCP tolerating fungal isolate were charactraized. The fungal isolate has demonstrated a tolerance to 2,6-DCP up to 300 mg/L. Mycelial growth and fungal sporulation were reduced with increasing 2,6-DCP concentrations up to 96 h incubation period. However, after 168 h incubation period, the fungal isolate recorded maximum growth at all the tested 2,6-DCP concentrations up to 150 mg/L. Carboxy methyl cellulase production by tested fungus was decreased by increasing 2,6-DCP concentration up to 75 mg/L. The biodegradation pattern of 2,6-DCP in GM liquid medium using GC–mass analysis as well as the degradation pathway was presented. This study provides a promising fungal isolate that could be used in the bioremediation process for chlorinated phenols in soil.
Mohamed S. Attia, Naglaa M. Balabel, Ibtisam M. Ababutain, Mahmoud S. Osman, Mohamed M. Nofel, M. Abd Elkodous, Walid F. Elkhatib, Gharieb S. El-Sayyad, and Ahmed I. El-Batal
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Potato plants can be infected by different bacterial diseases, among them, the potato brown rot disease, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. The novelty of the present research is to assess the potential impact of the synthesized copper oxide NPs (CuO NPs)-streptomycin nano-drug synthesized by gamma irradiation for inducing the systemic resistance against potato brown rot disease. CuO NPs-streptomycin was completely-characterized by UV–Vis., XRD, FTIR, HRTEM, SEM, and EDX elemental analysis. In the greenhouse experiment, the efficiency of CuO NPs was tested after three times of application. Disease index percent, phytochemicals, and metabolic indicators of resistance (as a response to induction of systemic resistance) were investigated. Our results indicated that treatment with CuO NPs during planting was more effective for increasing the protection percent by 55.8% and reducing the disease severity by 37.5% in the infected potato plants. CuO NPs-streptomycin increased not only the photosynthetic pigments but also the osmolytes contents. The highest reduction in malondialdehyde (44.89%) and hydrogen peroxide (32.9%) contents was achieved in the case of potato plants treated one week after planting. Therefore, it suggested applying CuO NPs-streptomycin in controlling plant disease since they are cost-effective and eco-friendly.
Azzah Ibrahim Alghamdi, Ibtisam Mohammed Ababutain, Nora Hamad Alonizan, Mokhtar Hjiri, Ahmed Hosny Hammad, B. Zerrad, and Mohammed Salah Aida
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
In the present work, stannate nanoparticles M2SnO4(M = Co, Cu, Mg, Ni and Zn) were synthetized using hydrothermal technique. The structural and morphological properties of the synthetized nanoparticles have been analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM). The antibacterial activity of these stannate has been investigated using the agar well diffusion technique. The structural analysis results reveal the monocrystalline nature of the prepared nanoparticles and the presence of SnO2 as secondary phase beside a small amount of metallic oxide. The antibacterial activity of the synthetized stannate nanoparticles was tested against a Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The results showed that all stannate nanoparticles except Mg stannate exhibit an activation against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The Cu and Zn stannate demonstrated higher antibacterial activity by comparison to the other stannate suggesting their potential candidature for the antibacterial activity and their utilization to develop a new antibacterial agent. A correlation between the antibacterial activity and the nanoparticle crystallite size is addressed. We concluded that a crystallite size of 12 nm seems to be an optimal size for efficient antibacterial activity of the stannate nanoparticles.
Imen Massoudi, Ridha Hamdi, Ibtisam Ababutain, Ethar Alhussain, and Aya Kharma
Hindawi Limited
This work examines the antibacterial and anticandidal activities of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZNPs) synthesized by high-speed ball milling (HSBM), for short milling times: 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 h. First, ZNPs have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, and the Zetasizer analyzer. The HSBM results in semispherical ZNPs with some local agglomeration. We found that nanoparticles decrease in size continuously with milling time until they reach about 84% of their original size after only two hours; at 1000 rpm, HSBM reduces ZNP’s average size by 6 nm/min. As particle size decreases, the X-ray diffracted patterns become broader and less intense while confirming that no phase transformation has occurred, proving HSBM’s effectiveness in synthesizing nanoparticles on a large scale within a short period of time. According to FT-IR analysis, as material sizes change, the polarization charge of the ZNP surface changes as well, creating discrepancies in vibrational frequency, as demonstrated by the shifting of the IR spectra in the 300–600 cm−1 frequency band. Raman responses have also been proven to depend on the particle size. Using the Agar well diffusion method, eleven microorganisms have been tested for the antimicrobial activity of ZNPs. Among the six Gram-negative tested bacteria, S. sonnei showed the largest inhibition zone of about 11.3 ± 0.6 mm with ZNPs measuring 148 nm in size (milled for 2 h), followed by E. coli ATCC 25922. Accordingly, S. aureus was the most susceptible Gram-positive bacteria, with inhibition zone size gradually increasing from 11.8 ± 0.3 mm to 13.5 ± 0.5 mm with decreasing nanoparticle size from 767 to 148 nm, while S. aureus ATCC 25923 was resistant to both milled and unmilled samples. Similar results were seen with candida, all milled ZNPs inhibited C. albicans, followed by C. tropicalis, whereas C. knisei was resistant to all ZNP sizes. In light of microorganism-ZNP interaction mechanisms, the obtained results have been discussed in depth.
Amira Hassan Alabdalall, Norah A. Al-Anazi, Lena A. Aldakheel, Fatma H. I. Amer, Fatimah A. Aldakheel, Ibtisam M. Ababutain, Azzah I. Alghamdi, and Eida M. Al-Khaldi
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractAspergillus niger MH078571.1 and A. niger MH079049.1 were identified previously as the two highest Aspergillus niger strains producing lipase. Biochemical characterizations of lipase activity and stability for these two strains were examined and revealed that the optimal temperature is 45 °C at pH 8for A. niger MH078571.1 and 55 °C for MH079049.1. The lipase production of both strains was studied on medium contains waste oil, as a cheap source to reduce the industrial cost, showed that the optimal incubation period for the enzyme production is 3 days. Moreover, an experiment on lipase activates in organic solvents demonstrated that 50% of acetone is the best solvent for the two strains. In the presence of surfactants, 0.1% of tween 80 surfactant showed the best lipase activities. Furthermore, Mg2+ and Zn2+ ions enhanced the lipase activity of A. niger MH078571.1, while Na2+ and Cu2+ enhanced the enzyme activity of A. niger MH079049.1. Lipase activity was also tested for industrial applications such as integrating it with different detergents. Maximum lipase activity was obtained with 1% of Omo as a powder detergent for both strains. In liquid detergent, 0.1% of Fairy showed maximum lipase activity in A. niger MH078571.1, while the lipase in A. niger MH079049.1 was more effective in 1% of Lux. Moreover, the degradation of natural animal fat with crude enzyme was tested using chicken and sheep fats. The results showed that more than 90% of fats degraded after 5 days of the incubation period.
Abir S. Abdel-Naby, Sara Nabil, Sarah Aldulaijan, Ibtisam M. Ababutain, Azzah I. Alghamdi, Somaiah Almubayedh, and Khaled D. Khalil
MDPI AG
Chitosan-aluminum oxide nanocomposite was synthesized, characterized, and used as a green heterogeneous catalyst to synthesize novel imidazopyrazolylthione derivatives. Nanocomposite polymeric material was characterized by EDS-SEM and XRD. The powerful catalytic activity, and its base character of the nanocomposite, was used to synthesize imidazopyrazolylthione (1) in a good yield compared to traditional cyclocondensation synthesis. Using the nanocomposite catalyst, substitution of the thiol group (1) afforded the corresponding thiourea (2) and the corresponding ester (3). The efficiency of the nanocomposite over the traditional base organic catalyst, Et3N and NaOH, makes it an effective, economic, and reproducible nontoxic catalyst. Moreover, the heterogeneous nanocomposite polymeric film was easily isolated from the reaction medium, and recycled up to four times, without a significant loss of its catalytic activity. The newly synthesized derivatives were screened as antibacterial agents and showed high potency. Molecular docking was also performed for a more in-depth investigation. The results of the docking studies have demonstrated that the docked compounds have strong interaction energies with both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
Ibtisam Mohammed Ababutain and Azzah Ibrahim Alghamdi
PeerJ
Background Candida infections are becoming more drug resistant; it is necessary to search for alternative medications to treat them. Therefore, the present study estimates the anticandidal activity of Vitex agnus-castus (VA-C) leaf extracts. Methods We used the agar well diffusion method to assess the anticandidal activity of three different VA-C leaf extracts (ethanol, methanol, and water) against three Candida species (Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, and Candida ciferrii). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was estimated using the two-fold dilution method and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) was determined using the classic pour plate technique. The MFC/MIC ratio was calculated to estimate the microbicidal or microbiostatic activity. A gas chromatography mass spectrometer was used to screen the phytochemicals of the VA-C leaf extracts (ethanol, methanol, and water). Results All VA-C extracts ethanol, methanol, and water were significantly inhibited the growth of the test Candida species and the inhibition activity depended on the solvent used and the Candida species. The results showed that C. tropicalis was the most highly inhibited by all extracts followed by C. albicans and C. ciferrii. The MIC values were 12.5–25 µg/ml, and MFC values were 25–100 µg/ml. The ratios of MFC/MIC were two-fold to four-fold which was considered candidacidal activity. Ninety-five phytochemical compounds were identified by the GC-MS assay for the VA-C leaf extracts. The total number of compounds per extract differed. Methanol had 43 compounds, ethanol had 47 compounds, and water had 52 compounds. The highest compound concentrations were: 4,5-Dichloro-1,3-dioxolan-2-one in ethanol and methanol, 1H-Indene, 2,3-dihydro-1,1,2,3,3-pentamethyl in ethanol, Isobutyl 4-hydroxybenzoate in methanol, and Benzoic acid and 4-hydroxy- in water. These phytochemical compounds belong to different bioactive chemical group such as polyphenols, fatty acids, terpenes, terpenoids, steroids, aldehydes, alcohols, and esters, and most of which have anticandidal activity. Conclusions VA-C leaf extracts may be useful alternatives to anticandidal drugs, based on their effectiveness against all test Candida species at low concentrations. However, appropriate toxicology screening should be conducted before use.
Ibtisam Mohammed Ababutain, Sahar Khamees Aldosary, Amal Abdulaziz Aljuraifani, Azzah Ibrahim Alghamdi, Amira Hassan Alabdalall, Eida Marshid Al-Khaldi, Sumayh A. Aldakeel, Noor B. Almandil, Sayed AbdulAzeez, and J. Francis Borgio
Hindawi Limited
Endophytic fungi serve as a reservoir for important secondary metabolites. The current study focused on the antibacterial properties of endophytic fungi isolated from Artemisia sieberi. Initially, six endophytic fungi were isolated and purified from the stem of A. sieberi. Endophytic fungi were identified by morphological characteristics, as well as by molecular identification using 18S rRNA gene sequencing method. All the six isolates were subjected to the preliminary screening for their antibacterial activity against nine important pathogenic bacteria using the disk-diffusion method. Crude extracts of the most active isolate were obtained using ethyl acetate. Antibacterial activity of the ethyl acetate extract was evaluated using well diffusion method on the selected isolate. The antibacterial efficiency of the selected isolate was evaluated by determining the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). MIC values were in appreciable quantity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria ranging from 3.125 to 6.25 µg/mL and 12.5 to 50 µg/mL, respectively. This result indicated that Gram-positive bacteria were more susceptible to the endophytic fungi extract. Moreover, the molecular identification results revealed that all the isolates belong to Ascomycota and represented Aspergillus and Penicillium genera and three species: A. oryzae (three isolates), A. niger (one isolate), and P. chrysogenum (two isolates). All six endophytic fungi were able to inhibit the growth of at least two of the tested bacteria. Among the isolated strains, isolate AS2, which identified as P. chrysogenum, exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against all nine tested bacteria and was higher than or equal to the positive control against most of the tested bacteria. Future studies are required to isolate and identify these bioactive substances, which can be considered as a potential source for the synthesis of new antibacterial drugs to treat infectious diseases.
Amal Aljuraifani, Sahar Aldosary, and Ibtisam Ababutain
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Seven endophytes bacteria were isolated from Moringa peregrina and identified using 16S ribosomal RNA sequences, which revealed two bacterial genuses, namely Proteus mirabilis and Bacillus; three species belong to Bacillus: B. licheniformis, B. subtilis subsp. Inaquosorum and B. pumilus. The antimicrobial activity of the isolate was screened against 11 human pathogens, and the potency of the selected isolate was qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by the cross-streak method and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the organic extract of selected isolate B. licheniformis MpKL1 was found to exhibit appreciable growth inhibition between 125 µg/ml and 500 µg/ml against most tested human pathogens and less influence against Acinetobacter baumanii, Enterobacter aerogenes, Streptococcus pyogenes and Candida albicans with MIC > 1000.
Ibtisam Ababutain
Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology
The present study evaluates the antimicrobial activity of Ocimum basilicum leaves extracts using well diffusion assay. Microbicidal or Microbiostatic activities were determined using (MBC or MFC) /MIC ratio. All O. basilicum extracts ethanol, methanol, and water possess antimicrobial activity. Methanol was the best solvent with greater inhibitory activity followed by ethanol then water against bacteria. However, all three solvents showed no difference in their inhibitory activity against yeast. The MIC and MBC values were in decreasing order methanol, ethanol then water against bacteria whereas Candida albicans was more sensitive at MIC 12.5μg/mL than C. tropicalis at MIC 25μg/mL and MFC values were lower against C. albicans than C. tropicalis at 25μg/mL and 50μg/mL, respectively in all type of solvents. The ratio of (MBC or MFC) /MIC were one to three-folds. The GC-MS result showed the presence of several important chemical compounds like terpene, steroids, phenols, esters, and fatty acids most of these compounds were reported to have an antimicrobial activity. The study indicates the importance of O. basilicum extracts as microbicidal agent with wide spectrum and high inhibitory properties in low concentrations. Therefore, O. basilicum leaves extracts may be important in the field of antimicrobial production as alternatives to antibiotics.
Ibtisam Mohammed Ababutain
Science Alert
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Searching for a new antimicrobial agent is a significant challenge because of increasing resistance of microbes to antibiotics. Because plants are an inexpensive source of rich metabolic substances that are highly efficient, this study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of Sarcocolla gum resin extracted from Astragalus sarcocolla root and its phytochemicals. To the best of the author's knowledge, the antimicrobial activity of Sarcocolla gum resin has not previously been reported.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The antimicrobial activity of Sarcocolla gum resin was evaluated using a well diffusion assay. The effect of water and ethanol extracts in various concentrations (20, 40 and 60%) against the growth of pathogenic bacteria and yeast were tested.
RESULTS
The results showed that the lower concentration (20%) of water and ethanol extracts had no inhibitory effect on any of the tested microbes except Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) ATCC 29213. However, an antimicrobial effect of water and ethanol extracts was observed on most tested microbes at higher concentrations (40 and 60%). The S. aureus ATCC 29213 was resistant to all ethanol extract concentrations. In contrast, S. aureus ATCC 29213 was inhibited by water extracts at all concentrations tested. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were estimated using a 2-fold dilution method and MIC values were between 12.5-25 μg mL-1. Phytochemical screening was performed using standard procedures that showed the presence of sterols, terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins and tannins.
CONCLUSION
This study showed that Sarcocolla gum resin extract possesses high antimicrobial activity that depends on the solvent type, the concentration of plant extract and the microbe type. These results provide a new source of antimicrobial that may be useful in the manufacture of antibiotics.
Ababutain
Science Publications
Indoor airborne fungi have been implicated in human health problems, damage to building materials, boo ks, clothes and stored foods, which effected by differe nt ecological factors. Aspergillus niger and Cladosporium sphaerospermum are the most dominant indoor airborne fungi were o btained from our previous study. The effect of normal indoor conditi ons (Temperature and Relative Humidity) on their growth was studied. Including their nutrients growt h requirements. The PDA medium was the appropriate growth medium for Cl. sphaerospermum , with a significant difference at (p<0.05); where as GYA medium was the appropriate growth medium for A. niger , with no significant difference. The temperatures 25 and 30°C favored colony diameter growth for Cl. sphaerospermum and A. niger , respectively with a significant difference at (p<0.05). The growth of Cl. sphaerospermum increased to reach its maximum at 100% RH. Whereas, A. niger prefers to grow at lower RH comparing to Cl. sphaerospermum to reach its maximum at 75% RH with a significant difference at (p<0.05). C ontrolling the normal indoor conditions can play a significant role in reducing the growth of indoor a irborne fungi. Cl. sphaerospermum can be used as indicator fungi for the high humidity level in resi dences. The result has proved that keeping the humi dity low enough can prevent fungi growth.
Ibtisam Mohammed Ababutain
SAGE Publications
The objective of this study was to estimate the total count of airborne fungi indoors and outdoors in three largest provinces of eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Seasonal variation on the fungi total count and fungi diversity was studied. This study has been carried out by the settling plate technique for a period of 1 year. Samples were collected once in each season. A total of 30 fungi species belonging to 18 genera were isolated. Aspergillus sp. and Cladosporium sp. were the two dominant fungi genera indoors and outdoors. The total fungi count in indoors was less than that of the outdoors. There was seasonal variation in the total count and diversity of the airborne fungi. Fungi diversity was higher in spring indoors and outdoors. Fungi total count in Qatif was the highest then Dammam and then Khobar in indoors, whereas the Dammam was the highest then Khobar and then Qatif in outdoors.