Prevention of salt induced hypertension in rats by oral administration of Lactobacillus acidophilus Yoghurt

A high salt diet can elevate blood pressure in humans and other susceptible animal species. A high proportion of our indigenous foods are fermented products and Lactobacillus species have been reported to be the predominant flora in many of our indigenous fermentation processes. In this study, the effect of concurrent oral administration of a yoghurt (produced by fermenting skimmed milk with a strain of L. acidophilus isolated from an indigenous fermented food) on salt loaded male Sprague-Dawley rats was investigated. The acidophilus yoghurt was found to prevent the development of hypertension in the salt loaded rats (p<0.05) without significant changes in heart rate, plasma Na+, Cl-,HCO3- levels. This shows a potential application of Lactobacillus derived probiotics in the prevention of cardiovascular disease risk factor

Antimicrobial susceptibilty of potentially pathogenic halophilic Vibrio species isolated from seafoods in Lagos, Nigeria

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance is indispensable for empirical treatment of infections and in preventing the spread of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms. This study is aimed at determining theantibiotic susceptibility of potentially pathogenic halophylic Vibrio species isolated in Lagos, Nigeria. Susceptibility patterns to ten (10) antibiotics were investigated in 44 potentially pathogenic halophilicVibrio species isolated from sea foods in Lagos. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that all the isolates (100%) were resistant to amoxicillin, augmentin, chloramphenicol and nitroforantoin. They alsoshowed multiple resistance patterns to Gentamycin, Nitrofurantoin, Tetracycline, Augmentin, Chloramphenicol, Amoxycilin, Ofloxacin, Cotrimozazole, Ceftriazone, and Ciprofloxacin. Resistance toall ten antibiotics occurs in 8 (18%) of the isolates. Among individual sp., Vibrio harveyi was found to be most resistant to the antibiotics screened. Infection caused by Vibrio contaminating sea foods in thisenvinronment will be difficult to treat because of their high antibiotic resistant nature

THE EFFECT OF SOME NIGERIAN LOCAL HERBS ON HELICOBACTER PYLORI

Four Nigerian medicinal plants commonly used in the treatment of bacterial infections were tested for antimicrobial activity against twenty local strains of Helicobacter pylori recovered from patients with gastro-duodenal ulcers and gastritis. In vitro agar diffusion assay revealed anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of ethanolic extracts of C. papaya and M. lucida to 80% (16/20) of the isolates tested, while the ethanolic extracts of O. gratissimum and P. amarus inhibited the colonial growth of 35% (7/20) of these strains. The zones of inhibition ranged from 5 – 20 mm in diameter. Contrastingly, the aqueous extracts of these plants appeared to lack anti-Helicobacter pylori activity except in M. lucida and O. gratissimum where inhibition of a total of three isolates was observed. The present results suggest the presence of anti-Helicobacter pylori principles in ethanolic extracts of C. papaya and M. lucida and support their future use in the treatment of ulcers and gastritis in Nigeria. (Af J Clinical & Exp Microbiology: 2003 4(2): 29-35

Fermentation Enhanced Biotransformation of Compounds in the Kernel of Chrysophyllum albidum

Chrysophyllum albidum Linn (African star apple) is a fruit with extensive nutritional and medicinal benefits. The fruit and kernel in the seed are both edible. Strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from fermented seeds and assessed for probiotic characteristics. The extracts in both the unfermented and the fermented aqueous extracts from the kernels obtained from the seeds of C. albidum were subjected to analysis using the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. This analysis identified the bioactive compounds present as possible substrate(s) for the associated organisms inducing the fermentation and the resultant biotransformed products formed. Three potential probiotic LAB strains identified as Lactococcus raffinolactis (ProbtA1), Lactococcus lactis (ProbtA2a), and Pediococcus pentosaceus (ProbtA2b) were isolated from the fermented C. albidum seeds. All strains were non hemolytic, which indicated their safety, Probt (A1, A2a, and A2b) grew in an acidic environment (pH 3.5) during the 48-h incubation time, and all three strains grew in 1% bile, and exhibited good hydrophobicity and auto-aggregation properties. Mucin binding proteins was not detected in any strain, and bile salt hydrolase was detected in all the strains. l-lactic acid (28.57%), norharman (5.07%), formyl 7E-hexadecenoate (1.73%), and indole (1.51%) were the four major constituents of the fermented kernel of the C. albidum, while 2,5-dimethylpyrazine (C1, 1.27%), 3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-2,3-dihydropyran-4-one (C2, 2.90%), indole (C3, 1.31%), norharman (C4, 3.01%), and methyl petroselinate (C5, 4.33%) were the five major constituents of the unfermented kernels. The isolated LAB are safe for consumption. The fermenting process metabolized C1, C2, and C5, which are possible starter cultures for the growth of probiotics. Fermentation is an essential tool for bioengineering molecules in foods into safe and health beneficial products