Antimicrobial activity of the ethanolic extract of Bryonopsis laciniosa leaf, stem, fruit and seed

Antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of the leaf, stem, seed and fruit of an Indian medicinal plant, Bryonopsis laciniosa, used traditionally as potent medication in healing several ailments such as adenopathy, ague, asthma, bronchitis, cholera, colic, consumption, convulsion, cough, fertility and phthisis, was tested against different pathogenic microorganisms by agar well diffusion method. Leaf and stem extracts of B. Laciniosa exhibited antimicrobial activity against different Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The extents of the growth inhibition of bacteria were measured for each extract and Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus cerues exhibited significant growth inhibition zone. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) exhibited by stem extract against the tested organisms ranged between 0.156 and 5 mg/ml; and for leaf extracts it varied between 0.625 and 10 mg/ml. Antimicrobial activities of the crude plant extracts were comparable to those of the standard antibiotics. This study concluded that B. Laciniosa used as a traditional medicinal plant has antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microorganisms

Probiotic Characterization of Cholesterol-Lowering Saccharomyces cerevisiae Isolated from Frass of Pyrrharctia isabella Caterpillars

Background and Objectives: Cholesterol hyper-accumulation is a growing factor causing cardiovascular diseases (CVD), a leading cause of global mortality and accounts for 16.7 million deaths worldwide. As far as India is concerned, there is an increase from 25.7 to 54.7 million cases of CVD per year since the year 1990, and change in the dietary pattern being the major cause of this condition. Amongst, coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis remain prominent with its major causative agent as high cholesterol levels. However, the current treatment of these diseases is inadequate, and impose systemic toxicity such as stent thrombosis, chronic inflammation, etc., probiotics with cholesterol-lowering ability is an ideal and safe choice for the prevention of the condition. Materials and Methods: The present study involved the culture-dependent method for the enumeration of microorganisms from caterpillar frass. Upon microscopic screening, yeast isolates were further characterized for their in-vitro probiotic potential such as toxicity assessment, tolerance to pH, bile, temperature, and salt conditions, safety assessment by measuring antibiotics susceptibility, evaluating antagonistic activity, assessing survival in simulated gastrointestinal environment, measuring aggregation capability, evaluating cholesterol-lowering activity and identifying microorganisms using molecular identification tools.  Results and Conclusion: The culture-dependent approach resulted in the isolation of four yeast cultures from the frass of Pyrrharctia isabella caterpillar. Yeast cultures designated as CP-I, CP-II, CP-III, and CP-IV were resistant for bile (1.2%), wide range of pH (1.5–10), and up to 42ºC temperature along with antimicrobial activity. CP-I culture also possessed bile salt hydrolase while tolerated stressful salt conditions, gastrointestinal environment, and exhibited good aggregation properties and hydrophobicity. Interestingly, CP-I could reduce cholesterol levels by 9.16% under in-vitro conditions. Molecular identification of CP-I showed its genetic similarity 97% with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This study demonstrated for the first-time isolation of cholesterol-lowering probiotic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae from caterpillar frass in in-vitro conditions

Silver nanoparticles: a new perspective in endodntic therapy

Silver has been in use in medicine since time immemorial because of its antimicrobial properties. But due to the emergence of antibiotics the use of silver has been declined. Several pathogenic bacteria have developed resistance against various antibiotics. This has led to reemergence of silver. Recently nano science and nanotechnology are gaining tremendous popularity. The small size of nanoparticles provides larger surface area and hence increases the effectiveness of nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles are used in medical and dental applications ranging from silver based wound dressings, silver coated medicinal devices like catheters, endotrachial tubes, bone cements, in gels, lotions, cosmetics, in dental restorative materials, endodontic cements, dental implants caries inhibitory agents and in prosthesis. The purpose of this article is to discuss briefly the potential role of silver nano particles in endodontic therapy