Californian Worms Research Articles

Cytoprotective Effects of Antioxidant Peptides from Red Californian Worm (Eisenia foetida) Hydrolysate on Differentiated Caco-2 Cells

Background/Objectives: When prooxidants outweigh antioxidants, oxidative stress can occur, causing an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This process can lead to cellular damage and plays a role in the development of numerous health conditions. This study aimed to investigate the cytoprotective effects on differentiated Caco-2 cells of hydrolysates derived from the red Californian worm (WH) and their fractions, identify the peptides responsible for this effect, and elucidate the mechanisms involved. Methods: The WH was obtained through hydrolysis with Alcalase 2.4 L and subsequently fractionated to two fractions (F > 3 kDa and F < 3 kDa) using a ceramic membrane with a molecular weight cutoff of 3 kDa. The peptides found in the F < 3 kDa fraction, demonstrating the highest cytoprotective activity, were then sequenced via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS/MS), and molecular docking was conducted to elucidate the underlying antioxidant mechanisms. Results: The hydrolysate of Eisenia foetida and its F < 3 kDa fraction exhibited no cytotoxicity, protected the cells from H2O2-induced oxidative stress (50% increase viability), preserved cell viability by restoring their redox status (ROS: 20% decrease, and glutathione (GSH): recovered to basal control levels) and cell cycle distribution, and decreased apoptosis (16%). Twenty-eight peptides were identified, with five showing antioxidant activity through stable interactions with myeloperoxidase (MPO) and Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap-1), KPEDWDDR being the peptide that presented the highest affinity with both molecules (−7.9 and −8.8 kCal/mol, respectively). Conclusions: These results highlight the WH as a potential source of bioactive peptides for the management of oxidative stress.

APPLICATION OF MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY METHODS TO IMPROVE SOIL FERTILITY

A person’s desire to improve the quality of life makes the individual reconsider the attitude towards the quality of consumed food. Despite the fact that the prices of natural products are several times higher than of those grown with the use of herbicides and pesticides, organic food is getting more popular in all countries around the world. Such products can only be received when crops are grown using organic farming methods, one of the principles of which is to increase the amount humus in the soil. The preservation of soil fertility can be ensured using the methods of modern biotechnology, which are based on the vital activity of microorganisms capable of converting organic matter from animal waste into environmentally friendly fertilizers. In animal husbandry, the main portion of agricultural waste is cattle and pig manure. The most economical way to dispose it is to use methane digestion, when biogas and fertilizers are obtained. However, when processing manure bedding materials in biogas reactors, the straw fractions and lignin–containing components of the bedding are not decomposed by bacteria and pass into the solid fraction of the fermented biomass unchanged, which is a problem. The infiltration of such an unprocessed residue into the soil leads to deterioration of soil properties. Thereby, the solid fraction of the fermented biomass requires additional processing to improve its agrochemical properties. Most expedient is to use vermicomposting, that is, process organic waste with the help of earthworms. Biohumus, or vermicompost, is one of the end products of this method. In this work, we studied the procedure of processing the solid fraction of fermented pig manure by Eisenia foetida compost worms (red Californian worm). In order to determine the optimal approach of vermicomposting, the experiment was planned. As a result, a high–quality organic fertilizer was obtained – biohumus –and the optimal parameters of the environment were determined(pH and humidity), at which the worms have the highest biological activity.

Horta and composting project: solid waste treatment in public school in Urutaí

The cultivation of vegetables in school gardens with the participation of students contributes to food education, especially when the products are used in school meals. The objective of this work was to make the students aware of the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling the waste generated in the day to day, through composting and the use of the compost in the garden made in the school. This work was conducted at the Maria Cândida de Jesus Municipal School, in Urutaí, GO, with the target audience being the elementary school students and servers of this school. The project was based on a theme lecture (environmental question), proposing the recycling of organic waste generated at school, the practice of composting and its use in the school garden, demonstrating the importance of vegetables in food, botanical aspects and their main forms of cultivation. Then the compost was built with the objective of recycling the school's organic waste, so the compost with Californian worms was prepared so that students and servers could monitor the process weekly. The compost was used to fertilize the vegetables 120 days after the beginning of composting. For the construction of the garden in the school were prepared three raised beds with composted bovine manure. The seedlings of parsley, chives, cabbage, carrot, jiló, okra, zucchini and sweet potatoes were made in trays of expanded polystyrene with standard substrate. The results demonstrated the enthusiasm of the students in the participation of the proposed activities, through the selective collection of the residues, as well as the monitoring of the composting used in the garden and the implementation of the vegetable garden.

MIGRATION OF TOXIC METALS FROM VEGETABLE WASTE IN COMPOST

The article presents the results of studies of the heavy metals transformation from the raw plant materials (dry leaf, lawn grass, vegetable wastes) in the process of composting using the Californian worm. It is known that in cities during the growing season, a large number of fallen leaves is accumulated. It is a valuable raw material for fuel production; it is an excellent thermal insulator, it is considered to be a good mulch and can be recycled. We have developed a humus technology based on vegetable waste (fallen leaves) with the help of a Californian worm. Before composting, the concentration of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, copper and zinc) was determined in foliage collected from the streets of Vinnitsa. Analyzes showed that the background of these metals in plant waste did not exceed the maximum permissible norms. It has been experimentally proved that composting involves the conversion of heavy metals from fallen leaves to the body of the Californian worm and removing them as insoluble components in the lower compass. In addition, it has been experimentally established that during the composting period various heavy metals showed uneven migration and transformation in a soluble form. The most active was adsorption and removal of zinc compost. It was found that humic water-soluble compounds convert more than 78% of the total zinc that was contained in the composted substrate. The least mobile compound was lead. However, even such a metal, as lead, during 150 days of composting by the California worm, turned into 40% soluble form and migrated to the lower layers of humic liquids. Thus, the processing of vegetable waste from cities (fallen leaves, lawn grass, garbage disposal, etc.) by composting using growing worms will not only solve the social problem of utilization, but will also contribute to increasing environmental safety and economic efficiency. Key words: heavy metals, transformation, California worms, compost, vegetable waste, utilization.

Compostagem e vermicompostagem como alternativa para tratamento e de destinação de resíduos orgânicos

Os solos de regiões semiáridas apresentam naturalmente uma baixa fertilidade, dificultando o crescimento e a produtividade das plantas, aumentando os custos de produção, devido aos investimentos com fertilizantes e defensivos agrícolas. Além disso, globalmente existe grande desperdício de alimentos. Diante deste cenário, objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar o reaproveitamento dos resíduos orgânicos para a produção de um composto orgânico por meio de compostagem, seguido de vermicompostagem. O experimento foi realizado em duas etapas (compostagem seguida de vermicompostagem), no Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Ceará Campus Maracanaú. Foram utilizados resíduos orgânicos alimentares, provenientes da Central de Abastecimento do Ceará, esterco bovino e folhas secas. Aos 51 dias após o início da compostagem, o composto foi colocado em um depósito com capacidade de 310 L e foram adicionadas 100 minhocas californianas adultas (Eisenia foetida), iniciando assim o processo de vermicompostagem. Concluiu-se que é possível utilizar os resíduos alimentares para a produção de composto orgânico fertilizante. A compostagem seguida de vermicompostagem mostrou-se viável e de fácil aplicação. A vermicompostagem diminuiu a granulometria do composto e melhorou a qualidade nutricional do material, aumentando os teores de fósforo, cálcio, zinco, cobre e ferro.

Californian worms biomass growth and its zinc accumulation under different concentrations of the metal in the nutrient medium

The ability of worms to accumulate biotic metals in their body creates the preconditions for obtaining a protein-mineral supplement containing metals in the organic compounds. Experimental studies on the worms reproduction, their mass increase and zinc organic forms accumulation in their body, depending on the content of this metal in the nutrient medium were carried out. Zinc content in the nutrient medium for worms was regulated by adding various doses of this metal salt (ZnSO4 • 7H2O). Worms were grown for 110 days on a nutrient medium with a different content of zinc. It has been established that adding Zinc at a dose of 160 mg/kg of nutrient medium provides increase in the worms number and weight by 1.5–1.9 and 1.55–1.96 times, respectively, as compared to the worms grown on a nutrient medium without zinc addition. The negative impact of zinc at a dose of 640 mg/kg of nutrient medium on the worms mass increase was established. Vermiculture mass was 12.9% lower than the control under high dose of the metal. Additional application of zinc at doses of 40 mg/kg, 80, 160, 320 and 640 mg/kg in growing worms on a nutrient medium provided increase in the content of this element in vermiculture dry mass, respectively, by 20.4%, 31.7, 50.0% or by 2.7 and 3.0 times.

Assessment of the possibility of using the method of sludge-lignin dehydration of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill by the freeze-thaw method

An estimation of the possibility of dehydration of sludge-lignin of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill by the freeze-thaw method was carried out. Change of sludge-lignin structure, physicochemical properties and chemical composition after freeze-thaw are shown. Toxicity and chemical composition of the water solution separated from the sludge-lignin during its freeze-thaw is estimated. An increase in the rate of germination of seeds of the cress in the soil with the addition of the frozen-out sludge-lignin in the ratio "sludge-lignin-soil" 1:3-1:4 is shown. Possibility of application and recommendations for the use of freezed out sludge-lignin as an organic fertilizer is considered. Principal possibility of the worm transformation of sludge-lignin, previously dehydrated by the freeze-thaw method, by red Californian worms Eisenia foetida Andrei Bouche (1972) is shown. The issue of prospects for processing this waste in a fertile bio-soil is discussed. The latter can later be used for recultivation of the territory of the sludge accumulator plots of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill.

Економічна ефективністьта інвестиційна привабливість виробництва продукції вермикультури в Україні

У статті проведені дослідження економічної ефективностіта інвестиційної привабливості переробки органічних відходів за допомогою вермикультивування на біогумус та іншу супутню продукцію. Відповідно до одержаних результатів аналітично-розрахункових досліджень встановлено, що розвиток вермикультури в Україні належить до перспективних напрямів агробізнесу, який не набув широкого поширення та в багатьох регіонах сприймається як інновація. Від вермикультивування органічних відходів одержують три важливі види цінної для сільського господарства продукції: біогумус, біомаса черв’яка та рідкий субстрат біогумусу (вермичай). Використання якісного біогумусу для удобрення зернових культур, овочів, ягідних та фруктових насаджень сприяє підвищенню їх урожайності на 15–35%. У світі поширені різноманітні інтенсивні та екстенсивні технології вермикультури, однак в Україні найбільш часто зустрічається організація канальної системи вермикультивування, яка є відносно трудомісткою. У статті досліджується ефективність виробництва продукції вермикультури на основі технології застосування бортів вертикального типу, яка ґрунтується на інтенсивному вирощуванні каліфорнійських черв’яків у штучно створених умовах із дотриманням мікрокліматичних стандартів в багатоярусних бортах, де засипається спеціально підготовлений субстрат для переробки його на біогумус в приміщеннях закритого типу. Використання інтенсивних способів вермикультивування з вертикальними бортами забезпечує зниження трудомісткості на 50 і більше відсотків порівняно з канальною системою вермибортів. У кожної з доступних для виробника технологій вермикультивування є свої переваги та недоліки. Зокрема використання вертикальних бортів забезпечує високі показники виходу продукції на одиницю площі, однак характеризується вищою капіталомісткістю одержаної продукції. За результатами дослідження визначено, що для створення нового високоефективного підприємства з виробничою потужністю 1200 т біогумусу за рік на основі інтенсивних технологій та без залучення орендованих основних фондів необхідно понад 8 млн грн. стартового капіталу, у тому числі 6,42 млн грн. основного і 1,75 млн грн. оборотного. Інвестовані кошти окупляться за 3,1 роки та забезпечать підприємство чистим прибутком від реалізації продукції за перший рік на суму понад 2 млн грн. Прогнозована дохідність інвестицій становитиме 161% за 5 років, а чиста приведена вартість проекту досягне 2,77 млн грн. при ставці дисконту 13,5%. Рівень рентабельності продажу продукції перевищить 40%.

Биоремедиация отходов кожевенного и цементного производств при использовании вермикомпоста

В статье приведены данные исследований эффективности вермикомпостирования при биоремедиации почв на территории сельскохозяйственных угодий с загрязнением поллютантами от кожевенного и цементного производств. Представлены маркерные экологические биоиндикационные параметры пшеницы, калифорнийского червя, которые достоверно отражают как уровень токсикации почв, так и степень ее очистки при вермикомпостировании; доказательства того, что при загрязнении территории отходами кожевенного производства экономически выгодно проводить биоремедиацию отходов при использовании вермикомпоста.

Synthesis of biomass and utilization of plants wastes in a physical model of biological life-support system

The paper considers problems of biosynthesis of higher plants' biomass and “biological incineration” of plant wastes in a working physical model of biological LSS. The plant wastes are “biologically incinerated” in a special heterotrophic block involving Californian worms, mushrooms and straw. The block processes plant wastes (straw, haulms) to produce soil-like substrate (SLS) on which plants (wheat, radish) are grown. Gas exchange in such a system consists of respiratory gas exchange of SLS and photosynthesis and respiration of plants. Specifics of gas exchange dynamics of high plants — SLS complex has been considered. Relationship between such a gas exchange and PAR irradiance and age of plants has been established. Nitrogen and iron were found to the first to limit plants' growth on SLS when process conditions are deranged. The SLS microflora has been found to have different kinds of ammonifying and denitrifying bacteria which is indicative of intensive transformation of nitrogen-containing compounds. The number of physiological groups of microorganisms in SLS was, on the whole, steady. As a result, organic substances — products of exchange of plants and microorganisms were not accumulated in the medium, but mineralized and assimilated by the biocenosis. Experiments showed that the developed model of a man-made ecosystem realized complete utilization of plant wastes and involved them into the intrasystem turnover.