In Egypt, red crayfish has become an important new food source, a cheap and popular source of aquatic food, replacing the expensive marine crustaceans. Chemical, physical, microbiological and quality attributes of red crayfish samples were determined. Results show that total weight of inedible parts was 84.64% of the live weight. Value of raw fresh crayfish yield was higher than that boiled. Cooking loss tail meat for boiled crayfish was 33.88% of meat. Moisture, protein and ash contents of raw fresh red crayfish (%) were slightly higher than those of boiled, while fat, fiber and carbohydrates contents (%) were higher than those of raw fresh. Crayfish is considered as a good source for minerals. Amino acids content for raw fresh crayfish was relatively high and the reverse was recorded for boiled crayfish. In conclusion, the boiled red crayfish had better quality attributes than that of raw fresh.

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Active components of neem leaves and seeds were extracted with different methods in order to study the effect of different extract concentrations on the inhibition of some pathogenic fungi. Highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify the active components of neem extract. Highest inhibition percentage of ethanolic neem leaf extract was recorded with Rhizoctonia solani, while the lowest was recorded with Alternaria solani. A complete inhibition percentage was recorded with 40% ethanolic neem leaf extract of R. solani and Fusarium oxysporum. The highest inhibition percentages were recorded with F. oxysporum (10, 20, 30 and 40%) concentrations of hexane neem leaf extract, while the lowest was recorded with A. solani. The highest inhibition percentages were recorded with R. solani (10, 20 and 30%) concentrations of methanolic neem leaf extract, while the lowest was recorded with the same mentioned concentration of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. A complete inhibition percentage was recorded with 40% methanolic neem leaf extract of F. oxysporum and R. solani, while the lowest was recorded with S. sclerotiorum. The highest inhibition percentage was recorded with R. solani (10 and 20%) concentrations of ethanolic neem leaf extract and the lowest was recorded with A. solani. The highest inhibition percentage was recorded with (10, 20, 30 and 40%) hexane neem seed extract of F. oxysporum. The lowest inhibition percentages with the same mentioned concentrations were recorded with A. solani. The highest inhibition percentage was recorded with (10 and 20%) methanolic neem seed extract of R. solani. The lowest inhibition percentage was recorded with S. sclerotiorum. The inhibition percentage of tested fungi increased by increasing neem leaf and seed extract by different rates. Also, neem seed organic extracts had higher inhibition percentage than that of neem leaf organic extracts. HPLC chromatogram of neem organic extract showed that nimonol (82%) is the major active component of neem organic extract.

This work was conducted to increase the nutritional value of some baby food namely Cerelac (rice-base) widely distributed in the Egyptian markets. Raising protein and minerals of baby food (Cerelac) increases its nutritional value. Dried surimi from common carp fish (Cyprinus carpio) fortified at 10, 20 and 30% levels. Chemical composition, microbiological, quality aspects and sensory evaluation were determined. Results indicated that moisture; protein, fat, ash, carbohydrates and energy values of surimi were 12.71, 60.77, 0.35, 4.29 and 21.88%, 333.75 kcal/100 g w/w, respectively. Aerobic bacterial counts detected Staph. spp., Coliform group, Salmonella and Shigella, while anaerobic bacteria and mold and yeasts did not detect. Increasing levels of surimi result an increment of moisture, protein, and ash contents. Fat, fiber and carbohydrates contents were reduced. Grams daily requirement (GDR) and percent satisfaction (PS/150) for protein decreased, while GDR and PS/150 for energy value increased. Fortification with 30% dried surimi leads to a maximum improvement of all tested sensory evaluation by different rates. This work strongly recommend that the fortification of Cerelac with 30% dried common carp fish surimi due to a maximum improvement of all tested sensory evaluation and nutritional value by different rates.

Plant parts play a crucial function to protect organisms from the toxic/carcinogenic effects of some compounds. The present study was carried out to investigate the protective effects of Graviola aqueous extract (GAE) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) which induced hepatic injury in rats. Thirty male albino Wistar rats were divided into five groups: group I was used as controls, group II received daily GAE (300 mg/kg bw) alone orally for six weeks, group III received by IP injection CCl4 in olive oil (50% V/V, 2 ml/kg bw), twice a week for two weeks, group IV, CCl4+GAE (curative group) injected CCl4 twice a week for two weeks then concomitant with GAE (300 mg/kg BW) daily for next four weeks, and group V, GAE+CCl4 (prophylactic group), received GAE, 300 mg/kg/day once daily orally four weeks, then concomitant with CCl4 twice a week for next two weeks. The obtained results showed that the administration of CCl4 caused hepatotoxicity as monitored by the significant (p≤0.05) increase in the levels of hepatic markers enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, ALT, aspartate aminotransferase, AST and alkaline phosphatase, ALP), total bilirubin (TB) and a decrease in hematological parameters such as white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell count (RBC), and blood platelet count (PLT). Also, our results showed that CCl4 caused a significant (p≤0.05) increase in oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde, MDA, reactive oxygen species, ROS, nitric oxide, NO), pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α,) level, and proapoptotic markers caspase-3, and B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2)-like protein 4 (Bax). Furthermore, a significant (p≤0.05) decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), reduced glutathione (GSH), and an antiapoptotic agent B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) was observed in liver tissue. The detected CCl4 effects were normalized by GAE administration, either a prophylactic or curative dose. Besides, GAE reduced the histopathological changes induced by CCl4.In conclusion, GAE was effective in both protecting and enhancing the liver deficits induced by CCl4 through many potential mechanisms including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic properties. Therefore, Graviola extracts up to 300 (mg/kg bw) could be considered a promising hepatoprotective supplement but more human clinical trials are also needed to validate the findings of the current research.