ion chelating capacity, and (iii) scavenging of superoxide anion radical. The antimicrobial activity of both plant extracts was evaluated against a panel of microorganisms using the agar disc diffusion method. The total phenolic content (51.97 and 64.9 mg/g dry weight in A. hierochuntica and H. thebaica, respectively) was significantly (p Ͻ 0.05) different. The antioxidant activity increased with an increase in concentration. The plant extracts were more active against Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative bacteria. Also, the antimicrobial activity of H. thebaica was higher than that of A. hierochuntica methanolic extracts. This study reveals that the consumption of these plants would exert several beneficial effects by virtue of their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

288SOD, but for GST enzyme at a dose level 10.0 kGy. For HeNe laser, with or without different doses (2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 kGy) of γ-irradiation, enzyme induction was significantly stimulated and positively correlated with the dose levels of γ-irradiation in combination with the He-Ne treatment. There was a significant increase in the concentration of MDA and this increase was more pronounced at dose level 20.0 kGy (38.2 µmol/g d.w) compared to the control (3.9 µmol/g d.w). Laser treatment by He-Ne laser or diode laser only caused a slight increase (P<0.05) in MDA content (4.4 and 5.08 µmol/g d.w respectively) compared to the control (3.9 µmol/g d.w). H 2 O 2 content significantly increased in all treatments and this increase reached its maximum at dose level 20.0 kGy (36.3 µmol/g d.w) compared to the control (2.3 µmol/g d.w.). On the other hand, He-Ne or diode laser treatments combined with γ-irradiation significantly decreased in comparison with γ-irradiation treatments alone. In the case of glutathione content, there were significant increases by γ-irradiation at dose levels 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 kGy. Furthermore, with a combination of γ-irradiation and He-Ne or diode laser, a marked increase in glutathione content was found and was more pronounced than that of gamma irradiation alone. KEY-WORDS: Antioxidants enzyme -Gamma irradiationLaser irirradiation -Vicia faba L. INTRODUCTIONUnder natural conditions of growth and development, plants are inevitably exposed to different types of stress, which may cause an increased production of active oxygen species (ROS) (Smirnoff, 1993 ), which cause tissue injury. Plants have evolved various protective mechanisms to eliminate or reduce ROS. In plant cells, one such protective mechanism is an antioxidant system, composed of both non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants (Foyer et al., 1994b). The capacity of the antioxidant defense system is often increased under stress conditions (Gressel and Galun, 1994), but in most situations the response is moderate (Foyer et al., 1994a). ROS are highly reactive in the absence of any protective mechanism, they can seriously disrupt normal metabolism through oxidative damage to membrane lipids, proteins, pigments and nucleic acids. These ROS are detoxified by the sequential and RESUMEN Influencia de la radiación ionizante en enzimas antioxidantes de Vicia faba L.Semillas de Vicia faba L. Giza 834 fueron expuestas a γ-irradiación a dosis de 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 y 20.0 kGy y después expuesta a una radiación laser de He-Ne (632.8 nm) o de diodo (650.0 nm) durante 5 minutos. Las actividades de las enzimas POD, APOX, CAT, SOD y GST fueron favorecidas significativamente, y éstas alcanzaron un máximo a una dosis de 5.0 kGy para las enzimas POD, APOX, CAT y SOD, y a 10.0 kGy para la enzima GST. Más aún, a diferentes dosis de γ-irradiación (2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 kGy) con y sin laser de He-Ne, la inducción enzimática fue significativamente favorecida correlacionando positivamente con las dosis de γ-irradiación en combinación con tratamientos ...

Egyptian peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) samples were roasted at 180°C for different time periods (0, 3, 5, 10, 20, and 45 min). Different protein fractions (total soluble protein, albumin, globulin and sodium dodecyl sulfate-2-mercapto ethanol) were separated using different solvents. Activities of acid phosphatase (AP), lipoxygenase (LOX), POX and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) were estimated in the total soluble protein fraction of roasted peanut. The results showed that peanut protein solubilities were variable and dependent on roasting temperature. Most of the albumin bands of roasted peanut samples changed after 20 min roasting time as well as the major arachin globulin protein starting to disappear. AP, LOX, POX, esterase, catalase and PPO activities showed significant decrease as a result of the roasting process.

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is now the third most important source of edible oil in the world after soybean and palm oil. In this study seeds of five different rapeseed cultivars namely; pactol, silvo, topas, serw 4 and serw 6 were evaluated for their fatty acid composition, glucosinolate profile, amino acids, total tocopherols and phenolic content. Among all cultivars significant variability in fatty acids were observed. The oleic acid (C18:1) ranged from 56.31% to 58.67%, linoleic acid (C18:2) from 10.52% to 13.74%, α-linolenic acid (C18:3) from 8.83% to 10.32% and erucic acid (22:1) from 0.15% to 0.91%. The glucosinolate profile of rapeseed was also separated and identified using high-performance liquid chromatography. Small variations in the glucosinolate profile were observed among all tested cultivars; however, progoitrin and gluconapin were the major glucosinolate found. Additionally, silvo cultivar showed the highest total glucosinolate c ontents (5.97 μmol/g dw). Generally, the contents of aspartic, glutamic, arginine and leucine were high, while the contents of tyrosine and isoleucine were low among all cultivars. For total tocopherols, the results indicated that both serw 6 and pactol cultivars had the highest total tocopherol contents (138.3 and 102.8 mg/100 g oil, respectively). Total phenolic contents varied from 28.0 to 35.4 mg/g dw. The highest total phenolic content was found in topas while the lowest value was detected in serw 6. These parameters; fatty acid contents, glucosinolate profile and amino acids together with total tocopherols and phenolic contents, could be taken into consideration by oilseed rape breeders as selection criteria for developing genotypes with modified seed quality traits in Brassica napus L.

La colza (Brassica napus L.) es hoy en día el tercer cultivo más importante de aceites comestibles en el mundo tras el aceite de soja y de palma. En este estudio semillas de cinco cultivos diferentes de colza, denominadas pactol, silvo, topas, serw 4 y serw 6, fueron evaluadas mediante su composición en ácidos grasos, perfil de glucosinolato, aminoácidos, tocoferoles totales y contenido fenólico. En todos los cultivos, una significativa variabilidad en los ácidos grasos fue observada. El ácido oleico (C18:1) vario desde un 56.31% a un 58.67%, ácido linoleico (C18:2) desde un 10.52% a un 13.74%, ácido α-linolenic (C18:3) desde 8.83% a un 10.32% y ácido erúcico (22:1) desde un 0.15% a un 0.91%. El perfil de glucosinolatos de colza fue también separado e identificado usando cromatografía líquida de alta eficacia. Una baja variación en el perfil de glucosinolato fue observado en todos los cultivos ensayados; sin embargo, progoitrina y gluconapina fueron los principales glucosinolatos encontraos en todos los cultivos. Además, el cultivo silvo mostro el contenido de glucosinolatos totales más alto (5.97 μmol/g dw). Generalmente, el contenido de aspártico, glutámico, arginina y leucina fue alto, mientras que el contenido de tirosina y isoleucina fue bajo en tod...