Antifungal Effects of Thyme, Agastache and Satureja Essential Oils on Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium solani

Growth inhibition of Aspergillus fumigatus,Aspergillus flavus and Fusarum solani exposed to the essential oils including Thyme, Agastache and Satureja were studied. Disc Diffusion Method was used to evaluate the fungal growth inhibitory effects of the essential oils. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the oils were determined and compared with each other. The results showed that all three essential oils examined, had antifungal effects against three fungi species. The MIC data revealed that Thyme oil was the most effective essential oil with the MIC of 62.5 μl ml-1

Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium andersoni infection in naturally infected cattle of northwest Iran

The protozoan intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium commonly infects cattle throughout the world and Iran. The present study was undertaken to determine the abundance and associated risk factors of Cryptosporidium infection in cattle herds of northwestern Iran. A total number of 246 fecal samples from 138 (56.1%) diarrheic (D) and 108 (43.9%) non-diarrheic (ND) cattle were randomly collected and examined by fecal smears stained with Ziehl-Neelsen. For molecular specification, DNA was extracted from collected Cryptosporidium oocysts and a fragment of 1325 bp in size from 18S rRNA gene was amplified. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection was 22.3% (55/246). The prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in examined calves less than 6 month-old was significantly higher than adult cattle. C. parvum and C. andersoni were identified in 20.3% (50/246) and 2.03% (5/246) of examined cattle, respectively. The highest prevalence of C. parvum infection was found in D calves < 6 month-old (13.4%, 33/246), while C. andersoni was only detected in ND cattle (8.9%, 22/246). There was significant difference in the prevalence between male than female cattle. There was no significant difference between prevalence and seasons of investigation. It was concluded that C. parvum was the prevalent species in younger animals compared to older ones as a potentially zoonotic agent in the region

Comparison of real-time PCR and cultural method for detection of bacterial load in pasteurized milk

In this study, we used a TaqMan® probes through the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique as a rapid and sensitive way to detect bacterial load of pasteurized milk. The reaction was optimized for enumeration of bacteria in pasteurized milk samples. In parallel, the same milk samples were assessed by conventional cultural-based method. The correlation between methods was evaluated by Bland Altman analysis. The minimum and maximum value for conventional culture-based method were 0 and 10,000 cfu/ml while qPCR gave us 55 and 7,071 (Bacteria/ml of pasteurized milk), respectively. Results indicated that Taq Man real-time PCR provides a useful tool for rapid and accurate quantification of bacterial load

Study on antibacterial and antioxidant activity of Oak gall (Quercus infectoria ( extracts from Iran

Abstract The antioxidant and antibacterial are group from food additive that use on food as preservative. The objective of this study was to determine antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Quercus infectoria galls the using different in vitro methodologies. The extracts of aquatic, ethanolic and methanolic, at a concentration from 300, 600 and 1200 µg/ml, showed a significant antibacterial effect expressed as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Gram-positive bacteria. In particular, staphylococcus arouse (MIC=300 µg/ml) and Bacillus cereus (MIC=600 µg/ml) were the most inhibited. The antioxidant activity were determined by the 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH)assay and a β-carotene bleaching assay, and compared with that of butylatedhydroxyl toluene (BHT).The data were expressed as the mean ± the standard deviation and they were statistically analyzed by SPSS software using ANOVA (P&lt;0.05). The results showed that among all the solvent extracts, water extract of Quercus infectoria galls had high antioxidant activities as measured by DPPH scavenging (30/15±0.83 µg /ml) and β-carotene linolic acid (89/4±1.11/ml). These parameters for BHT were 5±0.25 and 7.4±0.3 µg/ml respectively

Morphological and Molecular Discrimination of Fasciola Species Isolated From Domestic Ruminants of Urmia City, Iran

  Background: The trematodes of the genus Fasciola (the liver flukes) are among the well-known instances of food-borne parasites worldwide. Differentiation of Fasciola species is important because of their different transmission and epidemio-logical characteristics. The current study was undertaken to discriminate Fasciola species in the domestic ruminants of Urmia city, Iran. Methods:Adult flukes were isolated from the naturally infected livers of the slaughtered water buffaloes and sheep. The flukes were initially identified based on morphological and morphometric parameters. A 618-bp-long fragment of the 28SrRNA gene of Fasciola was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amplified fragment was digested by DraII or AvaII enzymes for a restriction frag-ment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and sequenced for the phylogenetic tree construction. Results:Based on the morphometric examination, the flukes belonged to F. he-patica, F. gigantica and an intermediate Fasciola form. The PCR-RFLP analysis was able to differentiate F. hepatica from F. gigantica. While the phylogenetic reconstruc-tion justified, to some extent, the morphological diagnosis, it failed to segregate F. hepatica from F. gigantica identified in this and the previous studies. Conclusion:To resolve fully the problem of taxonomy and evolution in Fasciola species, employing a broad range of molecular and morphological approaches is necessary. This is crucial for epidemiological surveys and successful clinical man-agement of their infection

Comparison of real-time PCR and cultural method for detection of bacterial load in pasteurized milk

In this study, we used a TaqMan® probes through the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique as a rapid and sensitive way to detect bacterial load of pasteurized milk. The reaction was optimized for enumeration of bacteria in pasteurized milk samples. In parallel, the same milk samples were assessed by conventional cultural-based method. The correlation between methods was evaluated by Bland Altman analysis. The minimum and maximum value for conventional culture-based method were 0 and 10,000 cfu/ml while qPCR gave us 55 and 7,071 (Bacteria/ml of pasteurized milk), respectively. Results indicated that Taq Man real-time PCR provides a useful tool for rapid and accurate quantification of bacterial load. Practical applications: Dairy industries are required to determine total bacterial load in farmer's raw milk before collection based on legal standard methods for microbial detection. Moreover, the result of total bacterial counting is the major pricing criterion of raw milk. Despite the storage of raw milk from large farms in separate tanks, raw milk from small- and medium-size farms are mixed in other tanks resulting in total bacterial load alteration. Traditional cultural-based methods are common to determine total bacterial load in raw milk. However, these techniques are laborious and time-consuming. Recent molecular-based methods are easily applicable to ensure that perishable raw milk could be monitored precisely under national rules and legislation in the shortest possible time. This report provides the details of a TaqMan real-time PCR (qPCR) that can be used in factory sites for accurate monitoring of raw milk bacterial load before transferring the raw milk into pasteurization line. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Inhibitory Effects of Aloe Vera Gel Aqueous Extract and L. casei Against E. coli in Yoghurt

Chemical preservatives are usually used to reduce or eliminate pathogenic or spoilage microorganisms, So many researches have been done to substitute the chemicals with naturally occurring compounds, especially plant essential oils. In this study the growth and survival of E.coli as a pathogen agent were investigated under the synergistic effects of simultaneous presence of Aloe Vera gel aqueous extract and Lactobacillus casei. For this purpose, an amount of 108-109 cfu/ml of L. casei, 103 CFU/ml E.coli, and two different concentrations of Aloe Vera gel aqueous extract (5 and 10%) were added to yoghurt. The samples were kept for 10 days in 4°C and the survival of E.coli was evaluated. The presence E. coli was determined by culture in selective media and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Aloe Vera gel aqueous extract against E.coli was investigated by Micro-well dilution assay. The MIC and MBC values ranged 20% and 40%. The highest antibacterial activity was seen at the end of the storage period and in the samples containing 10% extract (2.33±0.24 log10 cfu/g). E. coli count in samples containing extract and in probiotic yogurt were significantly decreased in comparison with the control group at the end of storage period. however, there was no significant difference in E. coli count between probiotic and non-probiotic yogurt containing extract and According to the results of this study L.casei and Aloe vera gel aqueous extract could be used as natural preservative agents in the dairy products

The effect of ciprofloxacin on sperm DNA damage, fertility potential and early embryonic development in NMRI mice

Side effects of ciprofloxacin (CPFX), a widely used broad spectrum antibiotic with fluoroquinolone core, have been reported in different organs. In the present study we sought to elucidate the impact of ciprofloxacin on sperm chromatin integrity and sperm DNA damage using Aniline Blue and Acridine Orange technique, respectively. The fertility potential in male mice was also evaluated. NMRI male mice of 8-week old were included in this study and they were randomly divided into three groups. The first group was received low dose (LD) of ciprofloxacin (206 mg kg-1, PO) and the second was treated with high dose (HD) of ciprofloxacin (412 mg kg-1, PO) for 45 consecutive days. The control mice were only treated with oral carboxymethyl cellulose for 45 consecutive days. Sperm cells were removed from cauda epididymis and analyzed for chromatin integrity and DNA damage. In addition, the rate of fertilization, two cell embryos, blastocysts, arrested embryos and their types was examined using zygotes cultured in human tubal fluid - bovine serum albumin (HTF-BSA) medium. Concomitant significant increase in DNA damage and protamine deficiency of the sperm cells in ciprofloxacin treated mice were observed (P < 0.05). In addition, the fertilization rate and embryonic development in treated mice were significantly lower than that of control mice, but the embryo arrest rate in treated mice was significantly higher than that of control group (P < 0.001). In conclusion CPFX was able to induce DNA damage and chromatin abnormalities of sperm cells which could be contributed in the observed low fertilization rate and retarded embryonic development