Interactive deciphering electron-shuttling characteristics of agricultural wastes with potential bioenergy-steered anti-COVID-19 activity via microbial fuel cells

• Published in: Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers 2022-07, Vol.136, p.104426-104426, Article 104426
• Main Authors: Tsai, Po-Wei, Hsueh, Chung-Chuan, Yang, Hsiao-Chuan, Tsai, Hsing-Yu, Chen, Bor-Yann
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural waste recycling; Bioenergy and biorefinery; COVID-19; Euphorbia hirta; Microbial fuel cells; Trichodesma khasianum
• ISSN: 1876-1070; 1876-1089
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jtice.2022.104426

•Couple electron-shuttling with bioenergy-stimulating characteristics to probe agricultural waste with anti-viral capabilities.•Reveal the most promising bioelectricity-promoting herbal extracts as Trichodesma khasianum and Euphorbia hirta.•Suggest correlations between electron transfer-driven bioenergy extraction and antiviral characteristics.•Explore the novel platform of bioenergy-based evaluation to screen upon agricultural waste for anti-COVID-19 potentials. This first-attempt study explored indigenous herbs from agricultural waste with bioenergy and biorefinery-stimulating potentials for possible anti-COVID-19 drug development. As prior novel study revealed, medicinal herbs abundant in ortho-dihydroxyl substituents and flavonoid-bearing chemicals were likely not only electron shuttle (ES)-steered, but also virus transmission-resisted. Herbal extract preparation from agricultural wastes were implemented via traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction pot. After filtration and evaporation, a crude extract obtained was used for evaluation of bioenergy-stimulating and electron-mediating characteristics via microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Combined with cyclic voltammetric analysis, MFCs provided a novel platform to distinguish electron shuttles from antioxidants with electron-transfer steered antiviral potentials of herbal extracts. After 50 serial cyclic voltammogram traces, considerable ES activities of herbal extracts still stably remained, indicating that possible medication-associated capabilities could be persistent. This work also extended to explore bioenergy-stimulating herbs from agricultural waste recycling for bioenergy and biorefinery applications. Water extract of Coffea arabica was more biotoxic than ethanolic extract, resulting in its lower power-generating capability. The findings revealed that water extract of Trichodesma khasianum and Euphorbia hirta could exhibit considerable bioenergy-enhancing effects. For cradle-to-cradle circular economy, agricultural waste could be specifically screened for possible regeneration of value-added anti-COVID-19 drugs via bioenergy selection. [Display omitted]