EditorialBiochemistry: Production of High-AddedValue Biomolecules for Industrial Uses

Maha Karra-Chaabouni ,1 Mohamed Trigui ,1 María M. Yust ,2

Mireille K. Awad,3 and Pedro J. García-Moreno4

1Preparatory Institute for Engineering Studies, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia2Instituto de la Grasa-CSIC, Sevilla, Spain3Saint-Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon4National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

Correspondence should be addressed to Maha Karra-Chaabouni; maha.chaabounikarra@ipeis.rnu.tn

Received 21 January 2018; Accepted 22 January 2018; Published 13 February 2018

Copyright © 2018 Maha Karra-Chaabouni et al.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properlycited.

Natural resources (plant, microorganisms, and algae) con-stitute a renewable reservoir of high-added value moleculesused in various fields such as health, food, pharmaceuticals,and cosmetics. These molecules obtained by extraction orbioconversion are considered natural and have gained anincreasing interest at the expense of synthetic products. Thisis due to the fact that consumers are raising awarenesstowards the benefits of natural products particularly in food,beverages, and medicines. Moreover, the development of dif-ferent bioprocesses, particularly techniques for biomoleculesextraction and bioconversion (e.g., maceration, supercritical-fluid extraction, fermentation, and enzyme catalysis), allowsthe discovery of novel bioactive compounds which can bepotentially used as drugs or for the fortification of foods.

This special issue contains five papers related to theproduction of high-added value biomolecules from natu-ral resources and their use in industrial applications. Anoverview of the research works published in this special issueis given below.

Microorganisms continuously provide new bioactivecompounds which are used for the development of noveldrugs for the treatment of human, animal, and plant dis-eases, especially the production of antibiotics more effectiveagainst resistant microbes. In this special issue two papersinvestigate the capacity of microorganisms isolated fromextreme conditions to produce active biomolecules. In thepaper entitled “Antagonistic Properties of Some Halophilic

Thermoactinomycetes Isolated from Superficial Sedimentof a Solar Saltern and Production of Cyclic AntimicrobialPeptides by the Novel Isolate Paludifilum halophilum,” D.F. Dammak et al. have isolated halophilic actinomycetesfrom a concentrator and crystallizer solar saltern ponds andexplored their potential to produce drugs against agriculturaland human pathogens. In the paper entitled “The Potentialof a Brown Microalga Cultivated in High Salt Medium forthe Production of High-Value Compounds,” S. Boukhris etal. investigated the physicochemical properties of bioactivecompounds produced from Amphora sp. (Bacillariophyceae)cultivated in a hypersaline medium. The fatty acids profileand biological activities (antioxidant and antibacterial) of theethanolic extract of Amorpha sp. were also determined.

Phytochemicals extracted from plants are a rich sourceof bioactive molecules including phenolics, vitamins, andflavonoids.Thesemolecules have been recognized as themostpromising compounds for the development of medicinesused in several pharmacological activities (e.g., anti-inflam-mation, antimicrobial, antihypertension). This is the subjectof the following three papers published in this special issue. Inthe paper entitled “Kinetics of Tyrosinase Inhibitory ActivityUsing Vitis vinifera Leaf Extracts,” Y.-S. Lin et al. studied thetyrosinase inhibitory activity of red vine leaf extract (RVLE)containing gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, rutin,and resveratrol, which are effective compounds for skinhyperpigmentation. The authors reported that RVLE had

HindawiBioMed Research InternationalVolume 2018, Article ID 4012145, 2 pageshttps://doi.org/10.1155/2018/4012145

2 BioMed Research International

an effective tyrosinase inhibitory activity and can be usedas a whitening agent for cosmetic formulations in thefuture. In the paper entitled “Nutritional Composition andPhytochemical, Antioxidative, and Antifungal Activities ofPergularia tomentosa L.”, I. Lahmar et al. evaluated theantioxidant properties of extracts from four different organs(roots, stems, leaves, and fruits) of amedicinal Tunisian plant,Pergularia tomentosa L. In addition, this work showed thatstem and fruit extracts exhibit an antifungal activity againstFusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici,which could become analternative to synthetic fungicide. In the paper entitled “Citruslimon from Tunisia: Phytochemical and PhysicochemicalProperties and Biological Activities” M. Makni et al. realizedquantitative and qualitative characterizations of the zest andthe flesh of lemon (Citrus limon). In order to valorize thepharmacological uses of lemon, the authors evaluated itsbiological activities (antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal,and antiproliferative activities).

We hope that this special issue provides to the readerswith valuable and useful knowledge contributing to thescientific research progress in the biology field.

Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank all authors for their valuable contributionand the reviewers for their considerable work that made thepublication of this special issue possible.

Maha Karra-ChaabouniMohamed TriguiMarıa M. Yust

Mireille K. AwadPedro J. Garcıa-Moreno

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com

International Journal of

Volume 2018

Zoology

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Anatomy Research International

PeptidesInternational Journal of

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Journal of Parasitology Research

GenomicsInternational Journal of

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2013Hindawiwww.hindawi.com

The Scientific World Journal

Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

BioinformaticsAdvances in

Marine BiologyJournal of

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Neuroscience Journal

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

BioMed Research International

Cell BiologyInternational Journal of

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Biochemistry Research International

ArchaeaHindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Genetics Research International

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Advances in

Virolog y Stem Cells International

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Enzyme Research

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

International Journal of

MicrobiologyHindawiwww.hindawi.com

Nucleic AcidsJournal of

Volume 2018

Submit your manuscripts atwww.hindawi.com