J Pieter H Van Wyk

Title: Valorization of Biomass Waste for Medicinal Purposes

Description:

The consumption of fossil fuels has an enormous negative effect on public health and the environment Climate change and acid rain are visible examples of these negative environmental effects Fossil fuels are not only consumed as a source of energy, but it is also a feedstock for the production of various medicines and pharmaceutical products The reliance on this feedstock is not sustainable due to its finite nature, and its negative environmental impact classifies it as an undesirable component of any manufacturing, production, or synthetic procedure It is of global importance that fossil fuels be replaced by alternative and renewable energy resources that could also be developed as feedstocks for many commodities and bio-products, such as medicines and pharmaceutical products
Lignocellulosic biomass is a perfect substance that could fulfill the role of a clean and environmentally friendly, feedstock that is also infinitely available Examples of biomass include,
* Wood biomass – wood shavings, sawdust and forestry residues
* Agricultural waste – rice straw, corn cob, corn straw, and sugarcane fiber
* Sugar and starch, lignocellulosic material and wet biomass
* Natural fiber waste such as hemp, flax, jute, and abaca
* Energy crops such as fast-growing trees and switch grass
* Aquatic biomass such as algae

Another biomass waste is substances originating from kitchens and gardens, with different forms ofwastepaper also contributing to the large amount of organic waste produced annually
Most of the ligno-cellulose-related developments done up to date are by the conversion of the cellulose component of biomass into biofuels such as bio-ethanol and the procedures applied during these actions include transesterification, gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, and fermentation The initial phase of these bio-conversion activities requires the cellulose component of biomass to be bio-converted into fermentable sugars such as glucose, a process mostly catalyzed by a hydrolytic enzyme known as cellulase The cellulase used for the saccharification of lignocellulose comes from many fungal, bacterial, and plant origins and has been intensively researched, with the outcomes published widely in scientific literature by numerous scientists since 1970

A new value-added outcome of biomass waste that can benefit the medical sciences but has not yet been realized is the formation of renewable, sustainable, and biodegradable drug carriers Firstly, will be the bioconversion of the lignocellulose component of biomass into lactic acid, which successively can be fermented into polylactic acid and finally be developed as a drug carrier system in association with co-polymers Secondly is the preparation of nanocellulose from the lignocellulose section of biomass, which can also be developed as a drug carrier Both polylactic acid and nanocellulose are non-toxic making them suitable materials to be introduced into a biological system The third part of biomass waste development is the valorization of the medicinal value of phytochemicals in biomass waste Obtaining information regarding this aspect would require the extraction of phytochemicals from biomass waste and determining its medicinal value in a biological system
Huge volumes of biomass waste, a major component of organic solid waste, are produced annually, which presents a significant management problem Besides the land occupied by these discarded materials, its effect on the environment is also negative An analysis of the biochemical composition of biomass waste revealed that it is a suitable resource that can be developed as a feedstock for producing biomaterials such as renewable drug carriers with the phytochemicals that can be valorized
Research Problem:
The use of fossil fuels as an energy source and feedstock for the synthesis of medicines and pharmaceutical products, together with the accumulation of waste biomass, has detrimental effects on the environment These effects can be limited by developing biomass waste as a resource of bioactive phytochemicals and renewable feedstock for drug carrier production

1 T Motshologane and JPH van Wyk Inhibitory Effects of Artemisia afra Extracts on the Bio-activity of Banana Tyrosinase Online Journal of Biological Sciences, 25(1), 200 – 208, 2025

2 NA Ndukwe, JBM Seeletse and JPH van Wyk Saccharification of Sawdust Materials at Different Incubation pH-values Nature Environment and Pollution Technology, 24(1), 1 - 11, 2025

3 NA Ndukwe, JBM Seeletse and JPH van Wyk Saccharification of Different Delignified Sawdust Masses from Various Trees Along the Lagos Lagoon in Nigeria Nature Environment and Pollution Technology, 23(3), 1319 – 1332, 2024

4 JBM Seeletse, NA Ndukwe and JPH van Wyk Temperature-related saccharification of various delignified sawdust materials from the Lagos Lagoon in Nigeria Nature Environment and Pollution Technology, 23(2), 863 – 874, 2024

5 TM Ndlovu and JPH van Wyk Saccharification of Various Wastepaper Materials by Cellulase from Brown Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) at Different Incubation pH-values Nature Environment and Pollution Technology 22 (4): 2153 – 2162, 2023

6 JBM Sibiya, NA Ndukwe and JPH van Wyk Development of sawdust from the Lagos Lagoon in Nigeria as a renewable feedstock for bio-product development Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences, 18 (1), 25 – 32, 2021

7 KMP Mokatse, MAM Mogale and JPH van Wyk The Influence of Trichoderma viride cellulase enzyme concentration on saccharification of wastepaper materials Online Journal of Biological Sciences 279 – 287, 2021

8 KMP Mokatse and JPH van Wyk Physical and chemical pre-treatment of wastepaper to increase saccharification by Trichoderma viride cellulase Global NEST Journal, 2021, 23 (2), 195 - 200

9 KMP Mokatse and JPH van Wyk Successive Saccharification of Wastepaper as a Resource for Bio-product Development Nature Environment and Pollution Technology, 20(3):1301, 2021

10 TM Ndlovu and JPH Van Wyk Temperature dependent bioconversion of wastepaper by garden snaiwastepaperpersum) cellulase into glucose a feed stock for bio-product development International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, 12(7):3985, 2021

11 K Rambau, KMP Mokatse and JPH van Wyk Saccharification of Mixed Wastepaper for the Production of Fermentable Sugars as Feedstock for Bio-product Development International Journal of Green and Herbal Chemistry Vol 9 No 2, 174 – 183, 2020

12 Sibiya, JBM, Ndukwe, NA and Van Wyk, JPH Saccharification of Sawdust Masses from the Lagos Lagoon in Nigeria with Aspergillus niger Cellulase Pharmaceutical and Bioscience Journal Vol 8(6), 24 – 31, 2020

13 NA Ndukwe, JBM Sibiya, and JPH van Wyk Saccharification of Sawdust with Aspergillus niger cellulase The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management Vol 46 (3), 321 – 327, 2020

14 TN Ndlovu and JPH van Wyk Isolation of cellulase enzyme from brown garden snail (Cornu aspersum) for the saccharification of waste paper materials MethodsX 6 (DOI: 101016/jmex201904019), 1030 – 1035, 2019

15 KMP Mokatse and JPH van Wyk The influence of substrate concentration on T viride catalyzed saccharification of various waste paper materials Bioscience Research 16(3), 2927, 2019

16 B Dhlamini and JPH van Wyk Successive saccharification of newspaper with A niger cellulase CPQ Microbiology Journal 3:3, 1-10, 2019

17 TM Ndlovu and JPH van Wyk Relative saccharification of waste paper during successive treatment with garden snails (Cornu aspersum) Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy Vol 11, 54 – 60, March 2019

18 NA Ndukwe, JPH van Wyk, T M Mamabola, W O Okiei, B I Alo and C C Igwe Bio-ethanol production from saccharified sawdust cellulose obtained from twenty different trees along the Lagos Lagoon in Nigeria Bioscience Research 15 (2), 1218 – 1224, 2018

19 JPH van Wyk SmarTTeaching Pharmacology eLmL 2018 : The Tenth International Conference on Mobile, Hybrid, and On-line Learning, 54-57, 2018 pp

20 TM Ndlovu and JPH van Wyk Saccharification of wastepaper with cellulase from garden snail (Cornu aspersum) International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 101007/s13762-018-1934-1, 2018

21 KMP Mokatse and JPH van Wyk Identification and optimum incubation temperature for saccharification of various wastepaper materials by cellulose from Trichoderma viride Bioscience Research, 2017, 14 (4), 1269 – 1278

22 KMP Mokatse and JPH van Wyk Temperature values for optimum saccharification of various wastepaper materials by cellulase from Trichoderma viride Bioscience Research, Innovative Scientific Information & Service Network 14 (4), 1269 – 1278, 2017

23 KMP Mokatse and JPH van Wyk pH-Values for optimum saccharification of various wastepaper materials by cellulase from Trichoderma viride Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research 7 (9), 18 – 26, 2017
24 JBM Sibiya and JPH van Wyk Bioconversion of waste newspaper into fermentable sugars at different temperatures with different Aspergillus Niger cellulase concentrations Journal of Applied Biology and Biotechnology Vol 4 (4), 69 – 74, 2016

25 KMP Mokatse, HS Mhalanga and JPH van Wyk Relative saccharification and initial degradation rates of different waste paper materials by cellulase from Trichoderma viride for bioenergy development Journal of Applied Bio-sciences Vol 105, 10183 – 10190, 2016

26 JPH van Wyk and JBM Sibiya Relative and efficient saccharification of waste office paper by different concentrations of Aspergillus Niger cellulase at various temperatures International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research Vol 23, (1), 1-9, 2016

27 KM Mokatse and JPH van Wyk Cellulase Catalyzed Bioconversion of Different Wastepaper Materials into Fermentable Sugars International Journal of Biosciences Vol 8, (2), 66-76, 2016

28 JPH van Wyk, J BM Sibiya, RB Dhlamini Saccharification and Change of Incubation pH during the bioconversion of various wastepaper materials with cellulase from Aspergillus Niger International Journal of Pure and Applied Biosciences Vol 3 (6), 12 – 20, 2015

29 KM Mokatse and JPH van Wyk Relative saccharification of various wastepaper materials by cellulose from Aspergillus Niger European Journal of Biotechnology and Biosciences Vol 3 (8), 44 – 46, 2015

30 JPH van Wyk, and JBM Sibiya Saccharification of ink covered office paper by different concentrations of cellulase from Trichoderma viride Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research Vol 6 (10): 9 – 17, 2014

31 JPH van Wyk, and JBM Sibiya Effect of ink on the saccharification of waste office paper during the biodegradation with cellulase from Trichoderma viride at different temperatures International Research Journal of Biological Sciences Vol 3 (8): 40 – 45, 2014

32 JPH van Wyk and T M Mamabolo The relative saccharification of different masses of waste paper materials into fermentable sugars by Trichoderma viride cellulase International Journal of Biotechnology and Allied Fields (IJBAF) Vol 1(4): 210 – 222, 2013

A Ndukwe, WO Okiei, BI Alo, JPH van Wyk, TM Mamabolo and CC Igwe (2013) Enzymatic bioconversion of Kraft pulped and oxidative delignified sawdust from the Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria into fermentable sugars Scientific Research and Essays Vol 8(13) pp 493 – 500, 2013

33 N A Ndukwe, W O Okiei, B I Alo, JPH van Wyk, T M Mamabolo and C C Igwe Glucose formation during biodegradation of Kraft-pretreated lignocellulosic waste International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy Vol 5 (3) 156 – 163, 2013

34 N A Ndukwe, W O Okiei, B I Alo, JPH van Wyk, T M Mamabolo and C C Igwe Saccharification of delignified sawdust from twenty different trees in the Lagos area of Nigeria African J Biotechnology Vol 11(100) 16625 – 16629, 2012

35 JPH van Wyk, Biowaste as a Resource of Bioproduct Development Survival and Sustainability, Environmental Earth Sciences, p 875 – 883, 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg

36 L Brown, O Heyneke, D Brown, JPH van Wyk, JH Hamman Impact of traditional medicinal plant extracts on antiretroviral drug absorption Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol 119 (3), 588-592, 2008

37 JPH van Wyk and M Mohulatsi Biodegradation of waste cellulose Journal of Polymers and the Environment Vol 11 (1) 23 – 28, 2003

JPH van Wyk and M Mohulatsi Biodegradation of waste cellulose by cellulase from Trichoderma viride Bioresource Technology Vol 86, 21 – 23, 2003

38 JPH van Wyk Bio-development of wastepaper as a resource of renewable energy: Influence of enzyme concentration and paper amount on the bioconversion process Energy and Fuels Vol 16 (5), 1277 – 1279, 2002

39 JPH van Wyk Biotechnology and the utilization of Biowaste as a Resource for Renewable Development World Conference on Technology Advances for Sustainable Development Conference Proceedings Cairo, Egypt, 2002

40 JPH van Wyk and Legoale, PB Saccharification of wastepaper mixtures with cellulase from Penicillium funiculosum Biotechnology Letters Vol 23 (22), 1849 – 1852 2001

41 JPH van Wyk Utilization of used biomass for renewable bio-energy development Sharjah Solar Energy Conference Conference Proceedings Sharjah, UAE, 2001

42 JPH van Wyk Sequential bioconversion of used paper to sugars by cellulases from Trichoderma reesei and Penicillium funiculosum The Environmentalis Vol 21(3), 211 – 220, 2001

43 JPH van Wyk A Review: Biotechnology and the utilization of organic waste as a resource for bioproduct development Trends in Biotechnology Vol 19 (5), 172 -177, 2001
44 JPH van Wyk and M Mohulatsi Utilization of used paper materials as a renewable resource for bioproduct development Australian Biotechnology Vol 11(5), 38 – 40, 2001

45 JPH van Wyk, AM Mogale and TA Seseng Bioconversion of wastepaper to sugars by cellulase from Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride and Penicillium funiculosum The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management Vol 27(2), 82 – 86, 2001

46 JPH van Wyk Conversion of Used Paper Materials into Sugars: A Biochemical Process to Limit Environmental Pollution The Chemical Educator Vol 5 (6), 315 – 316, 2000

47 JPH van Wyk Wastepaper as a resource of Bioenergy Renewable Energy, Renewables: The Energy for the21st Century World Renewable Energy Congress VI, Brighton UK Part II, 1336 – 1339, 2000

48 JPH van Wyk Wastepaper as a resource of Bioenergy Biocycle International: Journal of Composting and Recycling Vol 41 (2), 80, 2000

49 JPH van Wyk, Mogale, MA & Seseng, T E Saccharification of used paper with different cellulases Biotechnology Letters Vol 22 (6), 491 – 494, 2000

50 JPH van Wyk and AM Mogale Increased saccharification of pretreated used paper materials by Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus niger cellulase mixtures and catalytic profiles of the individual enzymes Resource and Environmental Biotechnology Vol 3, 71 – 79, 2000

51 JPH van Wyk Increased bioconversion of pretreated wastepaper to sugars by successive treatment with cellulase from Penicillium funiculosum and Trichoderma reesei Australasian Biotechnology Vol 9 (4), 206 – 210, 1999

52 JPH van Wyk, A, M Mogale and S K Moroka Bioconversion of waste paper materials to sugars: an application illustrating the environmental benefit of enzymes Biochemical Education Vol 27, (4), 47 – 49, 1999 pp

53 JPH van Wyk The Sweet Taste of Paper Archimedes Vol 41 (2), 14 – 16, 1999

54 JPH van Wyk Hydrolysis of pretreated paper materials by different concentrations of cellulase from Penicillium funiculosum Bioresource Technology Vol 69, (3), 269 - 273, 1999

55 JPH van Wyk Saccharification of paper products by cellulase from Penicillium funiculosum and Trichoderma reesei Biomass and Bioenergy Vol 16, (3), 239 – 242, 1999

56 JPH van Wyk Cellulase catalyzed hydrolysis of paper materials: pH and temperature profiles Resource and Environmental Biotechnology: Vol 2, (3), 249 -254, 1999

57 JPH van Wyk and AM Mogale Saccharification of paper materials by mixtures of cellulase from Penicillium funiculosum and Aspergillus niger Australasian Biotechnology Vol 8 (6), 357 – 359, 1998

58 JPH van Wyk Paper hydrolysis by cellulase from Penicillium funiculosum and Trichoderma viride Bioresource Technology Vol 63 (3) 275 – 277, 1998

59 JPH van Wyk and Anita C Botha Introduction to Organic Chemistry Willow Publishers, Pretoria ISBN : 0-620-21554-2, 1997

60 JPH van Wyk and Anita C Botha Hydrolysis of cellulose materials during successive treatment with cellulase from Penicillium funiculosum Biotechnology Letters Vol 19 (7), 687 – 689, 1997

61 JPH van Wyk Cellulose adsorption-desorption and cellulose saccharification during enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose materials Biotechnology Letters Vol 19 (8), 775 – 778, 1997

62 JPH van Wyk Thermostability of cellulase from Penicillium funiculosum Biotechnology Techniques Vol 11 (6), 385 – 386, 1997

63 JPH van Wyk Cellulose hydrolysis and cellulase adsorption after pre-treatment of cellulose material Biotechnology Techniques Vol 11 (6), 443 – 445, 1997

1 Oral Presentation: Smartteaching Pharmacology
53 Annual Conference of the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology Research
5 – 7 October 2019
Pretoria, South Africa
Oral Presentation: Smart-teaching Pharmacology
2 The Tenth International Conference on Mobile, Hybrid and On-line Learning
March 25 – 29, 2018
Rome, Italy
Oral Presentation: Green Pharmacology – More than only Medicine
3 All Africa Congress on Pharmacology and Pharmacy
5 – 8 October, 2016
Johannesburg, South Africa
Oral Presentation: Development of Waste Cellulose as a Resource of Bioenergy
4 The European Conference on Sustainability
1 – 3 July, 2013
Brighton, UK
Oral Presentation: Development of Waste Cellulose as a Resource of Bio-energy
5 The First United Arab Emirates Conference on Pure and Applied Chemistry
1 – 3 March, 2011
6 International Conference on Sustainability and Environment: Survival and Sustainability
19 – 24 Februamerican University of Sharjah, UAE
Oral Presentation: Biowaste as a Resource of Bioproduct Development
ry, 2007
Nicosia, Cyprus

Oral Presentation: Biotechnology and the Utilization of Biowaste as a Resource for Renewable Development
Second World Conference on Technology Advances for Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy
20 – 22 March, 2002
Cairo, Egypt
Oral Presentation: Utilization of Used Biomass for Renewable Bio-energy Development
Sharjah Solar Energy Conference
19 – 22 February 2001
University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE
Poster Presentation: Waste Paper as Resource of Bio-energy
Renewable Energy, Renewables: The Energy of the 21 Century
World Renewable Congress VI
7 – 10 July, 2000
Brighton, UK

Reviewer of Scientific Journals:

Online Journal of Biological Sciences

Bioresource Technology

International Journal of Recycling Organic Waste

Waste Management

Journal of Biotechnological Sciences

Research in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

South African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences

African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology

Process Biotechnology

International Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences

Asian Journal of Microbiology

Journal of Energy Research and Reviews

Scientific Techniques:

High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Electrophoresis

Low-Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Column Chromatography

Spectrophotometric Analyses

General laboratory techniques related to enzymology

Recent Post-graduate Student Output:

PhD - 2

MSc - 10

PhD registered (2025) - 1

MSc registered (2025) - 3