The Chemical composition and anti-mycobacterial activities of Trachyspermum copticum and Pelargonium graveolens essential oils

BACKGROUND: Microbial resistance to antibiotics and their adverse effects related to these antibiotics are the matter of global public health in 21th century. Emergence of drug resistant strains has interested the scientists to find the new antimicrobial agents among the medicinal plant's essential oil. METHODS: Anti-mycobacterial effects of Trachyspermum copticum and Pelargonium graveolens essential oils were assessed against multi-drug resistant clinical strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium kansasii, Mycobacterium fortuitum and standard strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv by a Broth micro-dilution method. Pelargonium graveolens plant named 'Narmada was invented by Kulkarni R.N et al. (Patent ID, USPP12425P2) and a formulation comprising thymol obtained from Trachyspermum is useful in the treatment of drug resistant bacterial infections (Patent ID, US6824795B2). The chemical composition of hydro-distilled essential oils was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. RESULTS: Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values for T. copticum essential oil against tested isolates were ranged from 19.5

Wild and Cultivated Species of Rice Have Distinctive Proteomic Responses to Drought

Drought often compromises yield in non-irrigated crops such as rainfed rice, imperiling the communities that depend upon it as a primary food source. In this study, two cultivated species (Oryza sativa cv. Nipponbare and Oryza glaberrima cv. CG14) and an endemic, perennial Australian wild species (Oryza australiensis) were grown in soil at 40% field capacity for 7 d (drought). The hypothesis was that the natural tolerance of O. australiensis to erratic water supply would be reflected in a unique proteomic profile. Leaves from droughted plants and well-watered controls were harvested for label-free quantitative shotgun proteomics. Physiological and gene ontology analysis confirmed that O. australiensis responded uniquely to drought, with superior leaf water status and enhanced levels of photosynthetic proteins. Distinctive patterns of protein accumulation in drought were observed across the O. australiensis proteome. Photosynthetic and stress-response proteins were more abundant in drought-affected O. glaberrima than O. sativa, and were further enriched in O. australiensis. In contrast, the level of accumulation of photosynthetic proteins decreased when O. sativa underwent drought, while a narrower range of stress-responsive proteins showed increased levels of accumulation. Distinctive proteomic profiles and the accumulated levels of individual proteins with specific functions in response to drought in O. australiensis indicate the importance of this species as a source of stress tolerance genes

Incidence, Clinical Manifestation, Treatment Outcome, and Drug Susceptibility Pattern of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in HIV Patients in Tehran, Iran

Background: Nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections have radically increased worldwide due to the increase in HIV infections. The disease activity increases with progressive immunodeficiency. Methods: A total of 216 HIV seropositive patients suspected of having mycobacterial infection were recruited for this study. Clinical samples were collected from each patient and cultured on Lowenstein-Jensen media. Detection and species identification were simultaneously done using Reverse Blot Hybridization Assay System. Also, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for each isolate were determined in 7H9 broth media for 10 antibiotics. Results: In this study, 4 rapid and 4 slow-growing NTM species were isolated and identified. Mycobacterium fortuitum was the most common NTM species, 3/8 (37.5), followed by Mycobacterium kansasii, 2/8 (25). The cases were identified as pulmonary disease, 5/8 (62.5 ), disseminated infection, 2/8 (25), and skin abscess, 1/8 (12.5). M. chelonae and Mycobacterium avium were isolated from patients diagnosed with disseminated infection with treatment failure. The skin abscess was caused by infection with M. simiae. The results of the MIC testing were as follows: M. kansasii and M. fortuitum were susceptible to amikacin (AMK); M. avium to clarithromycin (CLA); M. fortuitum 2/3 (67) to ciprofloxacin (CIP); 1/2 (50) of M. kansasii isolates to CLA, and M. chelonae to rifampin (RIF), linezolid (LIN), AMK, and CIP at medium and high concentrations. Conclusion: AMK showed incredible in vitro activity against M. kansasii and M. fortuitum. Also, M. avium was susceptible to CLA, whereas M. simiae and M. chelonae were resistant to the tested drugs in this study

Genotyping and drug susceptibility patterns of M. tuberculosis isolated from HIV seropositive patients in Tehran Iran

AIM: to investigate the prevalence and drug-resistance M. tuberculosis isolated from HIV seropositive individuals in Tehran, Iran. BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one of the most important risk factors for developing active tuberculosis (TB). OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate of transmission and drug resistant M. tuberculosis (MTB) strains isolated from HIV seropositive patients in Tehran province, Iran. METHODS: This study consecutively enrolled 217 TB/HIV coinfected patients from April 2018 to August 2019 at Emam Khomeini referral hospital and 5 other health centers in Tehran province. The isolates were genotyped using 15 loci Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for 6 drugs. In addition, mutations were assessed in rpoB, katG, inhA, and ahpC genes using Reverse Blot Hybridization Assay System. RESULTS: A 20 (9.2) patients were culture-positive for M. tuberculosis and typed by MIRU-VNTR, 13 (65) strains formed 5 clusters, but 6 (30) isolates had a unique pattern. The total Hunter-Gaston discrimination index (HGDI) for all 15 loci was 0.846, and the cluster size was 2 to 4 patients. The estimated proportion of recent transmission was 45. The mutation was identified in 1 isolate, lost inhAW1 and mutation in MT1 loci, which was resistant to isoniazid (INH). Moreover, 1 (5) and 3 (15) isolates were resistant to INH and ethambutol (EMB), respectively, of which 1 was resistant to INH and EMB. CONCLUSION: The transmission rate of TB in HIV patients was relatively high; however, the prevalence of drug-resistant strains and TB infection in females was insignificant in this study (p < 0.05); none of the isolates was MDR strains