https://curresweb.com/index.php/MEJAS1 <p class="w3-justify"><strong>EISSN:</strong> 2706-7947<br /><strong>ISSN:</strong> 2077-4613<br /><strong>Freqency:</strong> 4</p> <p><strong>Abbreviated key title:</strong> Middle East J. Appl. Sci.</p> <p><strong>Aims and Scope:</strong><br />Middle East Journal of Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes original and high-quality research papers and review articles in all areas of Applied Science.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.curresweb.com/index.php/MEJAS1/submission-guidelines">Submit your manuscript</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.curresweb.com/mejas/index.html">Previous published Issues upto December 2021</a><br />Issues Published in 2022 and afterwards are available in <strong>Archies </strong>and<strong> Current Issue</strong> links.<br /><a href="https://www.curresweb.com/index.php/MEJAS1/issue/archive">Archives</a></p> CURRENT RESEARCH WEB en-US Middle East Journal of Applied Sciences 2077-4613 https://curresweb.com/index.php/MEJAS1/article/view/686 <p>Pomegranate peel is recognized as a rich source of phenolic compounds with significant biological activities. In the present study, phenolic constituents were isolated from pomegranate peel crude juice using solid-phase extraction (SPE), followed by fractionation through thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The chemical characterization of the obtained fractions was carried out using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS). The analytical results confirmed the presence of several functional groups, including hydroxyl, carboxyl, carbonyl, and aromatic structures. Five major phenolic compounds were identified, namely gallic acid, ellagic acid, quercetin, catechin, and vanillin. The biological activities of these compounds were<br>systematically evaluated. Ellagic acid demonstrated a pronounced antioxidant capacity, particularly in terms of metal chelation and reducing power, whereas vanillin exhibited strong free radical scavenging activity as determined by the DPPH assay. In addition, gallic acid and ellagic acid showed notable antibacterial effects against the tested bacterial strains. Regarding anticancer activity, catechin<br>significantly reduced the viability of human breast cancer (MCF-7) and colon cancer (HCT-116) cell lines. Importantly, the safety profile of the studied phenolic compounds was assessed using normal human skin fibroblast (BJ1) cells, where no significant cytotoxic effects were observed at the tested concentrations. These findings support the potential application of pomegranate peel-derived phenolics<br>as safe and effective natural agents with antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties&nbsp;</p> . . . Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2026-05-20 2026-05-20 16 02 81 95 https://curresweb.com/index.php/MEJAS1/article/view/690 <p>Objective: The study aimed to classify the alkaline protease produced by Bacillus thuringiensis aizawai HD283. Methods: The experimental methodology encompassed the following steps: preparation of the inoculum, formulation of production media, enzyme activity assays, protein quantification. Results: After ammonium sulfate fractionation, acetone precipitation, and G-100 Sephadex column chromatography purification steps, of Bacillus thuringiensis aizawai HD283 partial purified alkaline protease. The purified alkaline protease exhibited a significant activation response to H₂O₂ at concentrations of 1%, 5%, and 10% (v/v), retaining 412%, 342%, and 286% of its activity, respectively. The enzyme activity demonstrated notable increases of 224%, 226%, and 300% in the presence of 10 mM, 5 mM, and 1 mM PMSF, respectively. Alkaline protease activity was inhibited by 10 mM EDTA, AgNO3 and HgCl2 with 44, 60 and 67 % of control respectively, the enzyme's activity increased to approximately 572% in the presence of 10 mM mercaptoethanol. It also increased to 127%, 268%, 292%, and 703% compared to the control group with the addition of calcium chloride, choline chloride,<br>magnesium chloride, and manganese chloride (at 10 mM concentrations, respectively). Acetone at 50% concentration activated the enzyme by 177%. The optimal pH was found to be 8.0 and 10.0, and the enzyme's activity increased with temperature from 30°C to 70°C. The enzyme retained approximately 74% of its original activity at 60°C. At a protein concentration of 0.017 mg/mL, the enzyme's maximum activity was approximately about, 16.640 units/mL/min. The highest maximum velocity (Vmax) of the enzyme was achieved at 30.116 micrograms of tyrosine/ml/min, Km value of casein concentration was 5.448%. Conclusion: Based on the chemical classification scheme and the catalytic mechanism observed, the alkaline protease produced in this study was identified as belonging to the class of Thermophilic- Metallo-Alkaline Proteases.&nbsp;</p> . . . . Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2026-06-10 2026-06-10 16 02 96 109