Monitoring paneer for Listeria monocytogenes- A high risk food pathogen by multiplex PCR

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed and applied to spiked and natural paneer samples to detect Listeria monocytogenes, a high risk food pathogen. The sensitivity of the assay on L. monocytogenes spiked paneer samples was 104 cells prior to enrichment, was improved to 103 cells after 4 h enrichment and one to 10 cells after 6 h enrichment as indicated by the amplification of 1.2 kb and 713 bp PCR products. The multiplex PCR assay when applied to 10 randomly sampled natural paneer products did not reveal any amplification products, indicating the absence of this organism from these samples.Key words: Listeria monocytogenes, multiplex PCR, 16S rRNA, hemolysin, paneer products

Functional and Probiotic Attributes of an Indigenous Isolate of Lactobacillus plantarum

BACKGROUND:Probiotic microorganisms favorably alter the intestinal microflora balance, promote intestinal integrity and mobility, inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and increase resistance to infection. Probiotics are increasingly used in nutraceuticals, functional foods or in microbial interference treatment. However, the effectiveness of probiotic organism is considered to be population-specific due to variation in gut microflora, food habits and specific host-microbial interactions. Most of the probiotic strains available in the market are of western or European origin, and a strong need for exploring new indigenous probiotic organisms is felt. METHODS AND FINDINGS:An indigenous isolate Lp9 identified as Lactobacillus plantarum by molecular-typing methods was studied extensively for its functional and probiotic attributes, viz., acid and bile salt tolerance, cell surface hydrophobicity, autoaggregation and Caco-2 cell-binding as well as antibacterial and antioxidative activities. Lp9 isolate could survive 2 h incubation at pH 1.5-2.0 and toxicity of 1.5-2.0% oxgall bile. Lp9 could deconjugate major bile salts like glycocholate and deoxytaurocholate, indicating its potential to cause hypocholesterolemia. The isolate exhibited cell-surface hydrophobicity of approximately 37% and autoaggregation of approximately 31%. Presence of putative probiotic marker genes like mucus-binding protein (mub), fibronectin-binding protein (fbp) and bile salt hydrolase (bsh) were confirmed by PCR. Presence of these genes suggested the possibility of specific interaction and colonization potential of Lp9 isolate in the gut, which was also suggested by a good adhesion ratio of 7.4+/-1.3% with Caco-2 cell line. The isolate demonstrated higher free radical scavenging activity than standard probiotics L. johnsonii LA1 and L. acidophilus LA7. Lp9 also exhibited antibacterial activity against E. coli, L. monocytogenes, S. typhi, S. aureus and B. cereus. CONCLUSION:The indigenous Lactobacillus plantarum Lp9 exhibited high resistance against low pH and bile and possessed antibacterial, antioxidative and cholesterol lowering properties with a potential for exploitation in the development of indigenous functional food or nutraceuticals

AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF CESAREAN TRENDS AT A TEACHING HOSPITAL IN PUNJAB

Objectives: The objective of the study was to study the indications and risk factors for caesarean section (CS) and to study the caesarean rates in various patient groups as per Robson’s classification. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at Government Medical College Amritsar over a period of six months. All the patients admitted for delivery beyond 22 weeks were allotted to Robson groups on admission and the indications of all CS were recorded. The data collected were tabulated and analyzed statistically. Results: There were 553 deliveries in the study period, of which there were 241 CS amounting to a caesarean rate of 43.6%. Nulliparity, previous caesarean delivery and malpresentation were significant risk factors for CS but induction of labor was not associated with increased probability of caesarean delivery. Previous caesarean delivery was the most common indication of CS followed by foetal distress. Among Robson groups, group 10 had the biggest group size and biggest contribution to cesarean rates followed by group 5. Conclusion: Tertiary care government hospitals have a higher cesarean rates due to referral of high-risk pregnancies. Increasing the rates of trial of labour after caesarean is one of the interventions that may serve to decrease the caesarean rates in such institutions

Pulmonary function in patient with ulcerative colitis: A cross-sectional study from North India

Aim: To determine the type and frequency of pulmonary involvement in patients with UC and to determine the distribution of pulmonary dysfunction in patients with UC. Methods: A total of 39 cases of UC, were enrolled consecutively in this study from the Department of Gastroenterology. The age, sex, family history, duration of disease, biochemical parameters (CRP, ESR, blood routine test, etc.), lung function, chest X-ray, diagnoses, and treatments were collected. Patients and controls underwent standard pulmonary function testing. Comparisons of rates among multiple groups were done with Fisher exact test, continuous variables were compared with one-way ANOVA. Results: According to the true love index, the severity of active UC was moderate and severe among 36.7% and 63.3% of subjects respectively. The pulmonary function test “FCV” showed reduced mean FCV among subjects with active UC (2.86±0.77 litres) and inactive UC (3.91±0.62 litres) as compared to controls (4.04±1.14 litres). Among the patients with deranged PFT, 1 (7.6%) had obstructive, 7 (53.8%) had small airway disease and 5 (38.6%) had a restrictive pattern of lung involvement. Conclusion: Subclinical pulmonary dysfunction is frequent in UC and dependent on disease activity. Some alterations were sub-clinical and some of the patients showed troublesome pulmonary symptoms

Probiotics for human health –new innovations and emerging trends

<p>Abstract</p> <p>The role of the gut microbiome in human health and disease with a particular emphasis on therapeutic use of probiotics under specific medical conditions was mainly highlighted in 1st Annual conference of Probiotic Association of India (PAi) and International Symposium on “Probiotics for Human Health - New Innovations and Emerging Trends” held on 27th-28th August, 2012 at New Delhi, India. There is increasing recognition of the fact that dysbiosis or alteration of this gut microbiome may be implicated in gastro-intestinal disorders including diarrheal diseases, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, life style diseases viz. Diabetes Mellitus-2 and obesity etc. This report summarizes the proceedings of the conference and the symposium comprehensively. Although, research on probiotics has been continuing for the past few decades, the subject has been currently the major focus of attention across the world due to recent advances and new developments in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and emergence of new generation of high through put sequencing technologies that have immensely helped in understanding the probiotic functionality and mode of action from nutritional and health perspectives. There is now sufficient evidence backed up with good quality scientific clinical data to suggest that probiotic interventions could indeed be effective in various types of diarrheal diseases, other chronic gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders like pouchitis, necrotizing entero-colitis, allergic responses and lactose intolerance etc. This report makes a modest attempt to give all the stake holders involved in development of probiotic based functional/health foods an overview of the current status of probiotics research at the Global and National level. The most crucial issues that emerged from the lead talks delivered by the eminent speakers from India and abroad were the major focus of discussions in different plenary and technical sessions. By discussing some of these issues from scientific perspectives, the conference could achieve its prime objective of disseminating the current knowledge on the prospects of probiotics as potential biotherapeutics in the management of human health and diseases.</p