Anti-Cancer Effects of Probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus for Colorectal Cancer Cell Line Caco-2 through Apoptosis Induction

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Probiotics are useful and non-pathogenic microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract, which can show anticancer activity through the induction of apoptosis. This study aimed to evaluate the antiproliferative effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus probiotic on the Caco-2 colorectal cancer cell line. Methods: The supernatant (secreted metabolites) and bacterial extract of L. acidophilus probiotics were prepared and used as an anti-proliferative agent on the colorectal cancer cell line, Caco-2 in vitro. The effects of supernatant and extract of L. acidophilus were evaluated on the viability and proliferation of cancer cells using MTT assay. Moreover, morphological alterations of cancer cells treated with supernatant and extract of L. acidophilus were evaluated by an inverted phase contrast microscope. The mRNA expression levels of apoptosis-related genes (SURVIVIN and SMAC) in treated cancer cells and untreated controls were evaluated using the Real-Time PCR method. Results: The results showed that the supernatant and extract of L. acidophilus inhibited the viability and proliferation of cancer cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. Moreover, various morphological alterations were observed in the treated cancer cells, which are indicators of apoptosis induction. The mRNA expression of SURVIVIN and SMAC genes were significantly up-regulated and downregulated in the treated cancer cells, respectively. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggested that the supernatant and extract of L.acidophilus could inhibit the viability and proliferation of colorectal cancer cell line, Caco-2through induction of apoptosis, increase the survival rate of colon cancer patients

Antibacterial Activity of Anti-Aphthous Spray and Oral Drop: Two Thymus Commercial Products

Background: Today, traditional medicine is developed globally as an important source for health care of the world's population. The current study describes the antibacterial activity of thymus commercial products against both Gram-positive including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes and Gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods: Two commercial products of thymus with standard expiration date (and in three different batch numbers) including anti-aphthous spray and oral drop were purchased from the pharmacies of Tabriz city. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and disk diffusion are used to investigate the antibacterial efficiency of the mentioned products. Results: The results of disk diffusion method showed zones of growth inhibition against S. aureus and S. pyogenes for the investigated products. Based on MICs, thymus oral drop had inhibitory effects against S. aureus, S. pyogenes while anti-aphthous spray showed inhibitory effects against S. aureus, S. pyogenes and P. aeruginosa. The findings also indicated that the thymus anti-aphthous spray had more inhibitory effects than thymus oral drop. Conclusion: This study showed that thymus can be used as an optimistic antibacterial agent against the selected microorganisms

Effect of Different Disinfectants on Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans Transferred to Alginate and Polyvinylsiloxane Impression Materials

Background and aims. Several products have been marketed for disinfecting impression materials. The present study evaluated the effect of Deconex, Micro 10, Alprocid and Unisepta Plus sprays on Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans transferred to alginate and polyvinylsiloxane impression materials. Materials and methods. A total of 180 impressions of a maxillary model (90 alginate and 90 polyvinylsiloxane impressions) were taken for the purpose of this in vitro study. Half of the impressions were infected with Staphylococcus aureus and the other half were infected with Candida albicans. Then the microorganisms were cultured and their counts were determined. Subsequently, the impressions were divided into groups of 15 impressions each. Each group was disinfected with Deconex, Micro10, Alprocid and Unisepta Plus according to manufacturers' instructions except for the control group. The culturing procedure was repeated after disinfection and microbial counts were determined again. Data was analyzed by ANOVA and paired-sample t-test. Results. There were statistically significant differences in the means of S. aureus and C. albicans counts before and after the use of disinfectants (P < 0.05). The use of the four disinfectants reduced S. aureus counts to zero in 80% of the cases. There were no statistically significant differences in S. aureus count reductions between the four disinfectants evaluated (P = 0.31). Micro 10 was more effective on alginate; Deconex was more efficient for polyvinylsiloxane and Alprocid had a better efficacy in both impression materials in eliminating C. albicans (P < 0.05). Conclusion. All the disinfectants evaluated have high disinfecting postentials

Evaluation the Antibacterial Effects of Two Commercial Products of Eucalyptus globulus Against Common Microbial Causes of Respiratory Tract Infections

Background: Recently, antimicrobial activity of medicinal plants have attained once more importance due to drug resistance of microbial isolates to common antibiotics as well as fewer side effects and low cost of herbal products comparing to chemical drugs. Eucalyptus globules (E. globulus) has been widely applied as a natural remedy in respiratory tract infections. The present study focused on the evaluation of antibacterial effect of two commercial products of E. globulus against common microbial causes of respiratory tract infections. To this end, two commercial products of E. globules including inhaler and oral soft capsule with standard expiration date, (in three different batch numbers) were purchased from the pharmacy stores of Tabriz city. Methods: The antibacterial efficiency of these products were investigated using Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and disk diffusion methods against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes and Pseudomona aeruginosa. Results: Based on the obtained results, these commercial products of E. globules showed significant inhibitory effects against Gram-positive bacteria. The findings also indicated that the Eucalyptus inhaler products had more inhibitory effects than Eucalyptus oral soft capsule, however batch to batch variations were of concern. Conclusion: This research presents optimistic result on using the Eucalyptus as an alternative antibacterial agent against respiratory tract pathogenic microorganisms