Mahrouz Mostafa

Cadi Ayyad University | UCAM · Department of Chemistry

The Moroccan picholine tree’s leaves contain phenolic compounds that benefit human health. However, the amount and type of these compounds can vary based on factors such as the extraction method and conditions. This study aimed to improve phenolic compounds’ extraction while minimising harmful chemicals’ use. It has been found that using ethanol as...

Stevia is known as a valuable spice plant. Freeze drying and gamma irradiation processing have been valuably used for microbial decontamination. In this study, the influence of freeze drying and gamma irradiation at the doses of 0.5, 1 and 2 kGy on the extraction yield, total polyphenol content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and antimicrobial a...

As a result of the growing demand for low-calorie sweeteners, interest in stevia plant has increased. Two methods are applied for the preservation of stevia leaves: freeze drying and gamma irradiation at 1 kGy. Because most studies have focused on sorption characteristics of plants, the present work aims to evaluate the effect of these two technolo...

Moisture sorption isotherms of five sweet cherry cultivars (Prunus avium L.) at three temperatures of 30°C, 40°C, and 50°C, and water activity range of 0.057–0.898 were determined using the static gravimetric method. The sorption isotherms of all cultivars decreased with increasing temperature, and they all exhibited type II behavior according to t...

Cellulose is the most abundant material in the earth, it is considered a renewable polymer of the cell walls of wood and plant cells, their interest and their use in different field is the purpose of extracting it namely: cellulose native (cotton), the transformation of cellulose into sheets (paper and filter paper), cupric cellulose, zinc cellulos...

Background and Aim: The leaves of Jujube Zizyphus lotus are widely used as medicine for their health benefits, particularly in China, America and the Middle East. To determine the benefits of Jujube leaves, the leaves were analysed to distinguish certain chemical compounds, examine their antioxidant activity and study their structural morphology....

The legume by-products of broad beans, artichokes and peas seem to be of little nutritional value. However, further analysis shows the presence of phenolic compounds, pigments; proteins, lipids and polysaccharides. The present study extended on the one hand to follow the classic drying kinetics in a ventilated oven of the powder of the bean peel, t...

Argania spinosa L. Skeels is an emblematic tree in Morocco, known worldwide for its medicinal and nutritional value. Its fruits contain kernels used to prepare an edible oil, the leaves are used to feed livestock, and its wood is used as fuel. If the oil acquires high importance, the other components of the fruit of the argan are undervalued. Our o...

Rebaudioside A is one of the major sweet components found in stevia. The great importance of rebaudioside A in the sweeteners market requires that its physicochemical and microbiological qualities are studied. Therefore, this work aimed to evaluate the microbiological and physical-chemical parameters of commercial rebaudioside A. Its moisture and a...

The caper is a thorny shrub, a plant very widespread in the countries of the Mediterranean basin. In Morocco it is widely cultivated in three main regions, the city of Taounate, the city of Safi and Tardounate, also in several other regions in a spontaneous state. In this study the objective is to study the caper genus (Capparis spinosa L.) belongi...

The effect of freeze-drying and gamma irradiation at 0.5, 1, and 2 kGy on the physicochemical composition (moisture, fat, ash, mineral, and chlorophyll contents), microstructure, total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity of stevia leaves was investigated in the present study. The results obtained indicated that freeze-drying and gamma irradi...

Absract Morocco has started promoting the use of biomass to replace fractions of industrial materials. One of the main constituents of biomass is polysaccharides. Cellulose is the main constituent of the cell wall of the plant, representing about 50% of the biomass. The cactus is one of the plants rich in cellulose and polysaccharides, this plant i...

This study was carried out to evaluate fruit quality of five sweet cherry cultivars grown in Morocco, namely, Burlat, Van, Cerisette, Napoleon and Coeur de pigeon. Significant differences (p˂0.05) were observed across the five cultivars in fruit weight (5.24–8.72 g), geometric mean diameter (14.22–16.36 mm), pH (3.48–4.12), soluble solid content (1...

This study aimed to develop a novel biscuit by supplementing cladode flour (CF) into whole-wheat flour (WWF) at different proportions 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%. Proximate analysis revealed that CF had a high amount of ash (11.9%) and dietary fiber (41.04%). Major minerals determined by ICP-MS were calcium (4.47 g/100 g); potassium (1.25 g/100 g); mag...

In this study, the effect of phosphates flotation wastes (PFW) and phosphogypsum (PPG) on organic biomass degradation, compost quality, and plant growth was examined. Our results showed that PFW and PPG improve composting mechanisms, accelerate organic substance degradation, and increase fertilizing elements (P2O5, K2O, MgO, CaO). The low level of...

Indirect solar convective drying is less energy intensive, and affordable. Thus, the study was carried out to investigate the efficiency of indirect solar convective dryer system by determination of the different characteristics of the dryer and to evaluate the effects of both drying and storage period on fruit quality. Sweet cherry of “Burlat” cul...

Particle size is an important quality parameter of pharmaceutical and processed food products. The present study aimed at evaluating the effect of powder fractionation on the functional, physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of cladode powder with particle size ranging from < 45 to 500 µm. Granulometric study presented bimodal granule...

Stevia rebaudiana is a natural non-caloric substitute to conventional sugar. Moisture adsorption isotherms of stevia powder, a sweet plant, were investigated at three different temperatures (30, 40 and 50 °C) using a gravimetric technique. The sorption isotherms were found to be typical type II sigmoid with the sorption capacity decreasing with inc...

This study presents the convectional drying process of two types of Moroccan sweet cherry, namely, Burlat and Van. 40 g of cherries were taken, pitted, cut in two halves, and were dried using a partially indirect solar convective dryer, which has an area of 2.5 m². The thin-layer drying of sweet cherry were carried out in July 2017 at three air tem...

The cellulosic waste is the most abundant material in the earth. It is considered as a renewable polymer of wood cell walls and plant cells. It is used in different fields mainly as sustainable potential precursors and it is useful for the preparing activated carbon. The purpose of this study is the valorisation and production of activated carbon f...

Water contained in foods allows the proliferation of microorganisms and the development of chemical reactions that deteriorate the product. This experimental study is focused on the influence of drying parameters on water loss of fresh rosemary leaves. It presents the experimental study results of the drying kinetics. The drying kinetics of rosemar...

The study was carried out to evaluate the effect of environmental conditions on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of two distinct cladode genotypes under three sampling dates (spring, summer, and winter). The juice extracted from Opuntia ficus-indica (spineless) and Opuntia megacantha (spiny) genotypes were analyzed for their phenolics...

Textile industry is among the highly polluting industries in water effluent. It consumes large quantities of water and chemicals compounds. These releases can have varying characteristics regarding their volumes and pollutants concentrations. Therefore, adverse effects can be observed as consequence on environment and biodiversity. According to the...

The solar drying for preservation of food products is the most attractive and promising application. It leads to reduce the water activity in the product and thereby prolongs its shelf life by decreasing the microbial contamination. Thymus satureioides, a medicinal and aromatic plant, was conserved using a nondestructive innovative preservation pro...

In this paper, we studied and compared water sorption isotherms of irradiated and non-irradiated (controlled) rosemary leaves at three temperatures: 30, 40 and 50 °C, using the standard static gravimetric method. This method consists on the use of different salts solutions, over a range of water activity from 0.05 to 0.9.The sorption isotherms of a...

Thymus satureioides is one of the most produced and consumed aromatic herb in Morocco. Hence, it is crucial to control its moisture content during storage. The aim of this research work was to compare the effect of thyme preservation methods on adsorption at different temperatures (30, 40 and 50 °C) and relative humidity (5–90%). For that, saturate...

Thymus satureioides is an endemic plant of Morocco used for its virtues in traditional medicine. This natural plant in comparison with the preserved one by gamma irradiation and thermal-biochemical treatment using a solar dryer, were investigated at various temperatures and water activity using a saturated salt solution method. Thus, it was necessa...

This study evaluates the effects of harvesting seasons on proximate composition, polyphenols, and antioxidant activity of cladode juice of the two species Opuntia ficus-indica (spineless) and Opuntia megacantha (spiny) selected in Morocco. Proximate composition showed that cladode juice is rich in ascorbic acid (22.88 � 0.62 mg /100 mL) and potassi...

The antioxidant activities of prickly pear cladode juice were studied by DPPH, TEAC and FRAP methods. The chemical composition of the samples was determined by liquid chromatography. The antioxidant properties of different cladode juice for different regions were studied. The region of EL Kelaa registered the highest values in antioxidant activiti...

Aromatic and medicinal plants are more asked in trading. Especially for some endemic plants as Thymus Satureioides, industrials are in need to keep it available to customers all the year. Thus, the conservation process allows the preservation and the storage of plants with great hygienic and safety quality. However, these processes can modify the f...

Les régimes pluviométriques au Maroc ont connu de grandes perturbations ces deux dernières décennies. Aussi, l’avenir des régions arides et semi-arides dépend largement de la mise en place de systèmes de production agricoles basés sur des cultures peu exigeantes en eau et en fertilisants, capables de supporter la sécheresse et de s’adapter aux cond...

Calcium oxalate crystallites occur very often in the plants tissues and their role is still poorly known. We report here the experimental protocol leading to the isolation of two forms of calcium oxalate crystallites differing in their hydration level in the parenchymal tissues of Opuntia ficus indica (Miller). Whereas the whewellite crystallites a...

Moisture sorption isotherms of peppermint tea treated by thermal and biochemical process were determined at 30, 40 and 50°C using the static gravimetric method. GAB model found to be the most suitable model for describing the sorption curves among three well-known tested equations. Thermodynamic properties such as differential enthalpy and entropy...

Peppermint was inoculated with Escherichia coli and its decontamination was carried out by gamma irradiation at low irradiation doses (0.5, 1.0 and 2.66 kGy). The efficiency of this decontamination method was evaluated and its impact on the quality parameters of peppermint, such as the color and ash content, as well as the effect on fingerprint com...

Cellulose microfibrils were isolated from the skin of Opuntia ficus indica (prickly pear fruits). Defatted skin powder was processed through consecutive extraction steps in order to remove mucilage, pectin and hemicelluloses. The cellulosic residue was made up of disencrusted cell-ghosts, having ovoid or elongated shapes, as revealed by optical mic...

The effect of air temperature and air flow rate on the drying kinetics of Gelidium sesquipedale was investigated in convective solar drying. Drying was conducted at 40, 50 and 60 °C. The relative humidity was varied from 50% to 57%, and the drying air flow rate was varied from 0.0277 to 0.0833 m3/s. The expression for the drying rate equation is de...

The morphological study of pericarp of Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) seeds showed that the cells were mainly made up of spindle-shaped sclerenchyma fibers. The chemical composition of the pericarp revealed a significant amount of polysaccharides, with cellulose (35%) and xylan (27%). The structure of xylan and cellulose, both in isolated form and as a...

A slightly water soluble (4‐O‐methyl‐d‐glucurono)‐d‐xylan was isolated from the skin of Opuntia ficus‐indica (OFI) fruits by alkaline extraction, followed by ethanol precipitation and ion‐exchange chromatography. The structure of this xylan was determined by sugar determination coupled with a 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy analysis. The xylan consiste...

Cellulose microfibril aqueous suspensions were prepared from Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes following a method previously developed for the extraction of microfibrils from sugar beet roots. Nanocomposite materials were obtained by casting and evaporating a mixture of this suspension and model polymeric amorphous matrix composed of an aqueous suspens...

Convective solar drying experiments in thin layers of Citrus aurantium leaves grown in Marrakech, morocco, were conducted. An indirect forced convection solar dryer consisting of a solar air collector, an auxiliary heater, a circulation fan and a drying cabinet is used for the experiments. The air temperature was varied from 50 to 60 °C; the relati...

Hemicellulosic polysaccharides were isolated from depectinated cell walls material of seed endosperm of Opuntia ficus-indica fruit by alkaline extraction. Two xylans were isolated, fractionated and characterized. The structural investigations were achieved by sugar and methylation analysis, and were confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR. An unusual fucosylgl...

Dilute HCl extraction of Opuntia ficus-indica fruits, previously disencrusted by hot water followed by hot chelating treatments, yielded a series of soluble pectic polysaccharides, which were de-esterified and separated into five fractions by anion exchange chromatography. Three of these fractions were thereafter purified by size exclusion chromato...

After removal of starch, the reserve storage polysaccharide of the endosperm seed of Opuntia ficus-indica fruit was studied. Cell Wall Material (CWM) was extracted successively by boiling water (WSF), hot calcium chelating agent solution (CSF) and cold mild alkaline solution (CASF). All polysaccharides extracted were fractionated by ion-exchange ch...

Moisture adsorption–desorption isotherms (EMC/e.r.h.) of Citrus aurantium leaves were determined at 30, 40, and 50 °C using the standard gravimetric static method over a range of relative humidity from 0.05 to 0.9. The experimental sorption curves were fitted by six equations: modified Chung–Pfost, modified Halsey, modified Oswin, modified Henderso...

A lignocellulosic flour was obtained by grinding dried cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica. It was used as low cost natural filler in PP and the effect of the treatment of the filter with MAPP was a-so investigated. The morphology and thermal properties of these composites were evaluated by SEM and DSC, respectively. MAPP coating resulted in a better...

In order to enhance the shelf-life of a late variety of Moroccan Citrus clementina (Nour), ionizing treatments were applied at 0.3 kGy, as well as washing (cold water) and waxing treatments. It has been found that, despite the irradiation treatment, the washing and waxing treatment do not improve the quality of C. clementina, but rather result in p...

Thin-layer solar drying experiments were conducted for the prickly pear cladode grown in Marrakech, Morocco. the experimental drying curves obtained show only a falling rate period. the results verified, with good reproducibility, that the drying air temperature is the main factor in controlling the drying rate. the expression of the drying rate eq...

Moisture equilibrium data for adsorption and desorption of water from Gelidium sesquipedale were investigated at temperatures in the range of 30–50°C and water activity ranging from 0.05 to 0.9. The experimental procedure used was based on the gravimetric static method. The sorption curves of Gelidium sesquipedale decreased with increase in tempera...

Apricot is a climacteric fruit that could develop undesirable color, flavor and a loss of nutrients when submitted to mechanical and technological treatments through browning reactions. Enzymatic browning results from the oxidation of polyphenols by polyphenol oxidases in the presence of oxygen. Identification and characterization of polyphenolic c...

After removal of the mucilage with water at room temperature, pectic polysaccharides were solubilized from Opuntia ficus-indica fruit skin, by sequential extraction with water at 60 degrees C (WSP) and EDTA solution at 60 degrees C (CSP). Polysaccharides with neutral sugar content of 0.48 and 0.36 mol/mol galacturonic acid residue were obtained, re...

The cold-water extract from the skin of Opuntia ficus-indica fruits was fractionated by anion-exchange chromatography. The major fraction, which was purified by size exclusion chromatography, consisted of a polysaccharide composed of galactose and arabinose residues in the ratio 6.3:3.3, with traces of rhamnose, xylose and glucose, but no uronic ac...

The present work examines the effect of drying air conditions on drying kinetics of the prickly pear fruit in a convective solar drier operating with an auxiliary heating system under air controlled conditions. Moreover, the prickly pear fruits are sufficiently dried in the ranges between 32 and 36 °C of ambient air temperature, 50–60 °C of drying...

This paper presents the thin layer convective solar drying and mathematical modeling of prickly pear peel. For these purposes, an indirect forced convection solar dryer consisting of a solar air collector, an auxiliary heater, a circulation fan and a drying cabinet is used for drying experiments. Moreover, the prickly pear peel is sufficiently drie...

The ultrastructure of the spines decorating the cladodes of the cactus Opuntia ficus-indica was investigated by optical microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, wide angle X-ray, and solid state 13C NMR analyses. Each spine consisted of a compact parallel arrangement of slender cellulosic fibers (0.4 mm in length and 6-10 microm i...

The equilibrium moisture contents were determined for prickly pear fruit using the gravimetric static method at t=30, 40 and 50 °C over a range of relative humidities from 0.05 to 0.9. The sorption curves of prickly pear fruit decreased with increase in temperature at constant relative humidity. The hysteresis effect was observed. The GAB, modified...

The effects of different levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) fertilizers were evaluated on biochemical markers involved in the quality of apricots ( sugars, organic acids and free acidity) and technological qualities ( phenolic compounds: substrates of the enzymatic browning reaction). Apricot fruits (cv. Canino) were picked in the M...

The equilibrium moisture contents of cladode of Opuntia ficus indica were determined using the gravimetric static method at 30, 40 and 50 °C over a range of relative humidity (Rh) from 0.05 to 0.9. The sorption capacity of cladode decreased with increase in temperature at constant Rh. The experimental sorption curves are then described by the GAB,...

The morphology and structure of cladodes and spines from cactus Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) were investigated by transmission and scanning electron microscopy together with electron and X-ray diffraction analysis. This paper focused also on the characterisation of cellulose from cladodes and spines of OFI. This cellulose can be found either as paren...

Moisture equilibrium data for adsorption and desorption of water from prickly pear peel (Opuntia ficus indica) were investigated at temperatures in the range of 30–50 °C and water activity ranging from 0.05 to 0.9. The experimental procedure used was based on the gravimetric static method. The experimental curves of sorption are then described by G...

To enhance the shelf life of a late variety of Moroccan Citrus clementina (Nour), ionizing treatments were applied at 0.3 kGy, as well as washing (cold water) and waxing treatments. It has been found that, despite the irradiation treatment, the washing and waxing treatment do not improve the quality of C. clementina, but rather result in yellower p...

Xylans were isolated from the pericarp of prickly pear seeds of Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) by alkaline extraction, fractionated by precipitation and purified. Six fractions were obtained and characterized by sugar analysis and NMR spectroscopy. They were assumed to be (4-O-methyl-D-glucurono)-D-xylans, with 4-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyluronic acid gro...

Organic acids content of Moroccan apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) var. Canino were separated and measured by HPLC. Good chromatograms were obtained by coupling three RP18 columns of 25 cm of length. The mobile phase was adjusted at an optimum pH of 2.15. The absorbance at 210 nm, measured with a diode array UV detector, was used for quantification. T...

RÉSUMÉ Les acides citrique, ascorbique et malique sont présents dans les fruits et leur dosage constitue une étape préliminaire dans la formulation des boissons. Dans ce travail, nous avons dosé ces acides dans les jus de différentes variétés d'orange et de citron marocaines par chromatographie liquide de haute performance. Une bonne séparation a é...

The influence of gamma-irradiation on the content of phenolic compounds was evaluated on Moroccan Citrus fruits (Citrus clementina Hort. ex. Tanaka) treated at a mean dose of 0.3 kGy and stored for 49 days at 3 degrees C. The results show that irradiation has enhanced the synthesis of total phenolic compounds and is correlated with phenylalanine am...