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Abstract: A clinical method for effective genetic screening of the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene was developed, using the fingernail as a source of DNA material. A highly effective protease that could solubilize fingernail keratin and inactivate any DNase co-existing in the tissue was obtained by cloning and sequencing the gene for alkaline protease from Bacillus alcalophilus, followed by expression of the gene in Bacillus subtilis. The amino acid sequence of MIB029 protease contained common regions found in four other subtilisin-like proteases. In the fingernails of 113 female university students (average age 20.8 ± 0.7 years; body mass index, 20.4 ±1.6), ALDH2 frequency was 0.66 for the typical Glu homozygote, 0.32 for the heterozygote (Glu487Lys), and 0.020 for the atypical Lys homozygote. Through a questionnaire, it was found that the subjects had not previously received information regarding the relationship between their genetic background and consumption of alcoholic beverages. We found that the genetic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) background to alcoholism can be easily detected by collecting fingernails, which is convenient for subjects or patients. Keywords: ALDH2 gene detection, genetic diagnosis, keratinolytic, Bacillus, alkaline protease.Download Full Article |
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Abstract: This experiment examined the growth response of Chlorella vulgaris exposed to CO2 concentrations increasing from ambient to 8.5% and under white, blue, red and red-blue lights after 15 days incubation. Biomass production increased with increasing CO2 concentrations under all light sources. The highest biomass production, 1.59 g L-1, was obtained when the algae were supplied with 8.5% CO2 and exposed to white light. Biomass production under blue, red and red+blue light was 1.53 g L-1, 0.45 g L-1 and 1.27 g L-1, respectively. The research suggests that C. vulgaris is not able to adapt production of its photosynthetic pigments to absorb light sources different that it is normally has evolved to. Keywords: Chlorella vulgaris, Photobioreactor,Biomass production, CO2 concentration, Artificial light.Download Full Article |
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Abstract: Studies were undertaken to isolate, identify and evaluate the biological activities of endophytic mycoflora of Indian medicinal plant, Terminalia arjuna. A total of 20 isolates of endophytic fungi were obtained from the leaves, twigs and bark tissues of the Terminalia arjuna. Out of 20, six isolates exhibited promising antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory activities when cultivated at shake flask level. The selected isolates were identified on the basis of morphology and ITS gene sequencing. Three isolates, designated as TA BA 1, TA L1 and TA L2 were identified as Aspergillus flavus whereas; the remaining three endophytic fungi were identified as Diaporthe arengae (TA TW2), Alternaria Sp. (TA TW1) and Lasiodiplodia theobromae (TA BA2). Aspergillus flavus was found as the predominant endophyte in leaves and bark tissues of the plant. The crude extract of the test isolates showed considerable antimicrobial activity against common human bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Salmonella abony and Bacillus subtilis) and fungal (Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Penicilium sp.) pathogens. The extract of Diaporthe arengae (TA TW2) significantly reduced the concentration of DPPH free radical as percent DPPH scavenging activity was found to be highest (69.56%) in comparison with other isolates. The % inhibition of hemolysis of RBCs was found to be highest (82.85%) with Diaporthe arengae (TA TW2) in comparison (83.26%) with standard drug (Ibuprofen). Among all, the extract of the Diaporthe arengae (TA TW2) showed excellent biological activities and hence was subjected to further characterization. The phytochemical investigation of the extract revealed the presence of terpenoids as the major phytoconstituents which was supported by TLC and UV spectroscopic studies. The results indicate that the isolated endophytes could be the valuable source of these bioactive molecules with diverse biological activities. The bioactivities may be attributed to the terpenoids present in the endophytic extract. Keywords: Endophytic fungi, Aspergillus flavus, anti-inflammatory, ITS, terpenoids, antimicrobial activity.Download Full Article |
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Abstract: The antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of water myrtle extracts (0.25 and 0.50%) were investigated against lipid oxidation (tiobarbituric acid reactive substances – TBARS) and microbial growth in vacuum-packed chicken frankfurters stored at 4±1ºC for 35 days. The effects of this extract on compositional, physicho-chemical and sensory characteristics of chicken frankfurters were also determined. Results showed that water myrtle extracts possess antioxidant (lower TBARS values that remained stable during the 35 days of storage) and antimicrobial properties (lower aerobic plate count) that may make them useful in the food industry. The addition of water myrtle extracts to frankfurters increased red/green and yellow/blue coordinates and decreased lightness values, which could indicate that Myrtus comunnis extract can also acts as a colorant in this type of meat products. Frankfurters with water myrtle extracts were scored similar to controls for overall appearance. Keywords: Antimicrobial, antioxidant, natural extracts, Myrtus comunnis, food preservation.Download Full Article |
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Abstract: The antimicrobial capability of oil containing medium-chain fatty acids and their corresponding monoglycerides, known as Enhanced Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO) against microorganisms isolated from bovine mastitis milk was studied. EVCO contains an effective amount of medium-chain free fatty acids (caprylic, capric and lauric acid) and their corresponding derivatives (monocaprylin, monocaprin and monolaurin) can act as antimicrobial agent with broad spectrum of antimicrobial properties. An in vitro assessment of EVCO against bovine mastitis microorganisms isolated from locally collected mastitis milk samples was conducted to determine its minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC>99). In general, EVCO exhibited its great antimicrobial capability to kill all mastitis microorganisms isolated from the mastitis milk sample at different concentrations of MBC>99 value. In fact, EVCO was found more effective to kill Mycoplasma sp. and gram positive microbes rather than gram negative microbes, especially in Mycoplasma bovis, Acholeplasma oculi, Enterococcus sp., Streptococcus sp. and Staphylococcus aureus with lower MBC>99 values in comparison with the synthetic antibiotic, Mastivet. A further investigation of the antimicrobial activities of EVCO against Staphylococcus aureus and Mycoplasma bovis against time revealed that EVCO was more efficient in killing these two microorganisms in a shorter time at a lower concentration as opposed to Mastivet. These findings indicated that EVCO has great potential application in postmilking teat germicide, which can be used as a preventive measure to control mastitis cases, especially against environmental mastitis pathogens. Keywords: Mastitis, Enhanced Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO), Mastivet, Antimicrobial Activity. |
