MOSP - Macao Scientific Publishers

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Antimicrobial screening of selected medicinal plants in Tamilnadu, India

C. Alagesaboopathi

Abstract: The present study deals with the antimicrobial activity of the aqueous, acetone and petroleum ether extracts of the leaves, stem and root of Andrographis ovata Clarke, Aristolochia indica L., Eclipta prostrata L. and Gloriosa superba L., using agar diffusion method against human pathogens, such as Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Psudeomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In the present investigation, all the extracts were found to be effective against four human bacterial species, E. coli, P. vulgaris, P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae, sensitive to all the plant extracts. The study suggests that the extract of the plant parts possesses potential broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity of acetone extracts was found to be higher than that of distilled water extracts. However, the root extract showed more inhibitory effect than the stem and leaf extracts.[...] Read More.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, antimicrobial activity, plant extracts, growth inhibition, disc diffusion method.

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Detection of Entamoeba histolytica with different methods admitted to the emergency department in diarrheic patients

Ozlem Aycan Kaya, Hakan Oguzturk, Muhammet Gokhan Turtay, U. Nilgun Daldal

Abstract: Antigen screening were conducted to stool samples from 60 patients admitted to our emergency department with diarrhea complaint between June 2009 and October 2009 by the methods of direct microscopic examination, trichrome staining, ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), respectively. As a result of examination of total 60 samples with direct microscopic, trichrome staining and ELISA method, it was detected positive in 7(11.3%), 6(9.7%) and 8(12.9%) samples, respectively. The presence of Entamoeba histolytica has been accepted exactly in the samples in which ELISA test results were positive and necessary treatment of patients has been started immediately. Due to precise pathogen protozoan discrimination has not been performed with the direct microscopic examination, it was emphasized that unnecessary drug therapy would be prevented as a result of detection of presence of E. histolytica specific antigen by ELISA in the samples sent to the laboratory with the diagnosis of amoebiasis by concerned physician.[...] Read More.

Keywords: Entamoeba histolytica, diarrhea, diagnosis.

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A study on comparative pharmacological efficacy of Berberis lycium and penicillin G

Ihtisham Bukhari*, Mukhtiar Hassan, Fida M. Abbasi, Ghulam Mujtaba, Nasir Mahmood, Noshin, Anees Fatima, Muhammad Afzal, Mujaddad Ur Rehman, Farzana Perveen and M. Tariq Khan

Abstract: The importance of medicinal plants in traditional healthcare practices provides opportunity to new areas of research. However, information on the uses of plants for medicine is lacking from many interior areas of District Mansehra. Keeping this in view, the present study was initiated. This study attempts to shade lights on the comparative pharmacological efficacy of Berberis lycium (medicinal plant) and drug penicillin G. The pharmacological activities of both the B. lycium and penicillin G were determined by disc diffusion method with incubation period of 24 to 48 h at 37°C. It was observed that, B. lycium showed excellent activity against the tested microorganism, Escherichia coli and Proteus (80 to 100%) and good activities against the tested microorganisms pseudomonas and staphylococcus (60 to 70%). While penicillin G showed excellent activity against all tested microorganisms. It is recommended that, B. lycium can be used for the treatment of diseases caused by tested microorganisms because of its excellent and good activity. It is also observed that, B. lycium do not have any adverse effect on those people who have this in long practice.[...] Read More.

Keywords: Berberis lycium, penicillin G, disc diffusion, pharmacological activity.

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Genetic analysis of Karakul sheep breed using microsatellite markers

Shahram Nanekarani*, Cyrus Amirinia and Nour Amirmozafari

Abstract: In this study, the genetic variation in Karakul sheep was investigated using 15 microsatellite markers (MCMA2, BMS460, BM1815, OARCP26, OARFCB20, MAF64, OARAE129, BMS332, LSCV38, BM6444, BMS995, MCMA26, BMS678 and OARCP49) and all fifteen loci were amplified successfully. Genomic DNA was extracted from 120 blood samples, using modified salting-out method. Tests of genotype frequencies for deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) were performed at each locus and revealed significant departure from HWE (P < 0.001) due to heterozygote excess. Parameters of variability such as effective number of alleles and gene diversities corroborated with the high level of variation frequently displayed by microsatellite markers. The fifteen tested loci were all polymorphic. Furthermore, other criteria of genetic variation including polymorphism information content (PIC) values and Shanon information index were calculated in this study. Results showed that, high level of genetic diversity was observed in Karakul breed and this breed was not at risk for conservation concept. This research has also shown that microsatellite technique is a useful tool for evaluation of genetic variation among domesticated animals.[...] Read More.

Keywords: Karakul sheep, microsatellite markers, genetic variation, polymorphism. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE).

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Antimicrobial activities of the whole plant of Cestrum nocturnum against pathogenic microorganisms

Murad Ali Khan*, Humaira Inayat, Haroon Khan, Mohammmad Saeed, Ikhtair Khan and Inayat-Ur-Rahman

Abstract: The crude methanol extract of the whole plant of Cestrum nocturnum L. (Solanaceae) and its subsequent fractions were tested against various bacterial and fungal strains. With the exception of Salmonella typhi, the tested samples showed marked antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aurous, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Shigella flexenari. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged from 19 to 280 µg/ml. The crude extract and fractions were also susceptible to Candida species and Microsporium canis. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for various fungi ranged from 170 to 290 µg/ml. In phytochemical analysis, the crude form and fractions of plant showed the presence of various phytochemical chemical groups like glycosides, alkaloids, saponins, phenols, flavonoids, sterols and tannins. Therefore, the current findings can be attributed to these groups.[...] Read More.

Keywords: Cestrum nocturnum L., antibacterial, antifungal, phytochemicals.

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Preservation methods of fungi in 35 years old stock culture storages: A comparative study

Roseli Santos Freitas*, Kátia Cristina Dantas, Cristiane Neves Pereira, José Eduardo Levi and José Eduardo Costa Martins

Abstract: The maintenance of fungi isolates and the development of methodologies were available from their phenotypic and genotypic characteristics. Alterations of Histoplasma capsulatum and Candida spp. Strains preserved by continuous subculturing on fungal collection and by lyophilization for 35 years were evaluated. Candida isolates maintained by lyophilized methodology were viable and preserved by the typical characteristics of each species. Only one lyophilized isolate from H. capsulatum was viable and demonstrated typical morphology. Both genus, which were preserved by continuous subculturing, revealed morphologic alterations and lost their sporulation capacity. The DNA from these isolates was sequenced (conserved 28S rDNA) in order to confirm their identity. Random amplified polymorphism DNA (RAPD)-based comparative analysis of the two preservation methods revealed alterations in the band profiles in 28 and 33% in Candida spp. and Histoplasma capsulatum strains respectively. The RAPD-based results confirm that the subculturing method alters phenotypic and genotypic characteristics by deleting or inserting nucleotides. Otherwise, the lyophilization was effective to yeasts, but it was not effective for dimorphic fungi.[...] Read More.

Keywords: Polymorphism, genotypic characteristics, lyophilization, random amplified polymorphism DNA.

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Screening of Pogostemon parviflorus Benth. for anti-Candida activity

Shahla Najafi and Batool Sadeghi-Nejad*

Abstract: Pogostemon parviflorus, an aromatic woody herbaceous plant, is found in high rainfall localities. The medicinal properties of this plant show that leaves are used for anxiety, cellulite, depression, eczema and wounds. Also, they are used for thrush, mycotic enteritis and vaginitis. The aim of the present study is to assay the anti-Candida activity of the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Pogostemon parviflorus leaf against opportunistic mycosis causing phatogenic fungi, such as Candida albicans (5), Candida glabrata (2), Candida tropicalis (2) and Candida dubliensis (1), by agar well diffusion method. Antifungal activity of the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Pogostemon parviflorus leaf was characterized by ranges of inhibition zones from 8 to 15 mm and 8 to 20 mm, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) by ranges of 2.5 to 20 mg ml−1 and 2.5 to 10 mg ml−1, respectively. The ethanolic extract of tested plant has more anti-Candida effect at 5.7 mg ml−1 when compared to the methanolic extract at 6.6 mg ml−1. The results prove Pogostemon parviflorus leaf as a potent source of natural anti-Candida compounds.[...] Read More.

Keywords: Anti-Candida activity, Pogostemon parviflorus.

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Interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis MPB64 protein with heat shock protein 40

Lei Chen*, Xiaowei He, Xihong Zhao and Jianyu Su

Abstract: The MPB64 protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) is an important structural and functional protein, which has been known to be involved in the virulence, pathogenesis as well as proliferation of the pathogen, however, how MPB64 protein interaction with host protein is still unclear. To identify cellular proteins that interact with the MPB64 protein and to elucidate the possible involvement of MPB64 protein in M.tb pathogenesis, a human lung cDNA library was screened using a yeast two- hybrid system assay. HSP40, a molecular chaperone facilitating protein the folding and assembly, was found to interact specifically with the MPB64 protein. The interaction between MPB64 and HSP40 was verified by colocalization experiment and coimmunoprecipitation of HeLa cell lysates expressing both proteins. The mapping studies localized the critical MPB64 sequences for this interaction to amino acid 171-206. Based on these results, we speculate that HSP40 is a functional target of M. tuberculosis MPB64 protein in cells. This is the first report demonstrating the interaction of HSP40 with a structural protein of M. tuberculosis, indicating a new drug target for M.tb.[...] Read More.

Keywords: MPB64 protein, HSP40 protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, yeast two-hybrid, co-immunoprecipitation, protein-protein interaction.

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A simplified mathematical model of multi-species biofilm for simultaneous removal of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitric oxide (NO) using a biotrickling-filter

Full Length Research Paper

Abstract: The population dynamics of a multi-species biofilm for simultaneous removal of nitric oxide (NO) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) in a laboratory-scale biotrickling-filter was described. Based on a simplified multispecies-multisubstrate model with the gas-liquid-biomembrane transfer theory, the calculations were compared to the long-term verification experiments. Simulation results were in good agreement with the experimental values of biofilm thickness, population densities of biofilm, total biomass dry weight and partial pressures of NO and SO2 in the outlet gas. The model has been proven to be capable of describing the dynamic biofilm growth, multiple biomass evolution and synergetic effect between sulfate reducing bacteria and denitrifying bacteria on simultaneous removal of NO and SO2. When NO feed concentration was constant at 1780 mg/m3 and SO 2 feed concentration was shifted between 0 and 3200 mg/m3 every half hour, the removal efficiencies of NO and SO2 at steady-state were above 90 and 95%, both in the simulation and experiment.[...] Read More.

Keywords: Population dynamics, multispecies-multisubstrate, gas-liquid-biomembrane transfer, biotrickling-filter, simultaneous SO2 and NO removal.

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In vitro effect of tigecycline against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a review of the available drugs for tuberculosis

Ahmet Yilmaz Coban*, Aydin Deveci, Yeliz Tanriverdi Cayci, Meltem Uzun, Alper Akgunes and Belma Durupinar

Abstract: The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a novel antibiotic drug tigecycline on clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and, reviewing defined anti-tuberculosis effects of available agents. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of tigecycline for 50 M. tuberculosis including multidrug-resistant (MDR) clinical isolates (20 MDR isolates) was determined by broth microdilution method in the study. Tigecycline MIC values were ranging between 8 and 64 µg/ml. However, there is not any defined break point for M. tuberculosis resistance. In conclusion, it seems that the in vitro effectiveness of tigecycline to M. tuberculosis is not good but further in vivo studies are needed.[...] Read More.

Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, tigecycline.

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