Effect of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides on the growth of Bifidobacterium spp. as assessed using real-time PCR

The use of component from Ganoderma lucidum as prebiotic source is interesting as the G. lucidum itself was known for more than a decade in the traditional Chinese medicine. In this work, Ganoderma lucidum crude polysaccharides (GLCP) and Polysaccharide-fraction number 2 (PF-2) were used as carbon sources in the fermentation with Bifidobacterium sp. The results showed the potential of prebiotic effect of the G. lucidum extract in batch-culture fermentation based on increment in the growth of bacteria used (0.4-1.5 log10CFU/mL) after 18h fermentation. Fermentation was further done using faecal materials as bacterial inocula and bacterial growth changes were examined using real-time PCR. The results showed the ability of GLCP and PF-2 to support the growth of Bifidobacterium genus with 0.3 and 0.7 log10cells/ml increased, respectively. Interestingly, Lactobacillus which is known as beneficial bacterial genus also showed growth increment with 0.7 and 1 log10cells/ml increased. The competition for carbon sources thus inhibits the growth of potentially harmful genus, Salmonella (0.3 and 0.5 log10cells/ml) in comparison to the control

Survival of bifidobacteria and other selected intestinal bacteria in TPY medium supplemented with curcumin as assessed in vitro

The growth of two Bifidobacterium strains (Bifidobacterium longum BB536, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4) and other selected intestinal bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei shirota, Enterococcus faecalis JCM 5803 and Escherichia coli K-12) were studied in TPY medium containing various concentrations of curcumin (0.025, 0.050, 0.075 and 0.1% (w/v). Viable cell counts of the bacteria and their respective pH medium were determined during incubation period of 12h, 24h, 36h and 48h incubated at 37°C. In the presence of curcumin, cultures showed various degrees of growth inhibition compared to in TPY medium without curcumin. E. faecalis and B. longum BB536 were survived better than the other bacteria tested. Among the bacteria tested, L. acidophilus recorded the most sensitive to curcumin. The presence of curcumin did not change the pH of the medium as compared to the basal TPY. The ability of the bacteria to degrade curcumin after 48h incubation was studied using spectrophotometric method measured at 400.4 nm wavelength. The overall percentage reduction of 0.025, 0.050, 0.075 and 0.1% of curcumin by the bacteria tested was 56-60, 18-24, 15-16 and 12-14, respectively

Assessment parameters for coal-fired generation plant site selection

In order to meet future demand for electricity, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) is committedto the long-term strategic planning in locating suitable sites for future development of power stations.Site selection is an important process in the early planning stage of any power plant development asit will have significant implications on the capital investment, operational as well as the environmentand socio-economic costs of the power plant.The aim of this presentation is to briefly describe the ten (10) main assessment parametershaving the most profound effects on the selection of potential coal-fired generation plant sites.These assessment parameters were derived based on a survey of approximately 40 experts, comprisingfrom various specialists such as engineers from TNB, senior officers from Department Of EnvironmentMalaysia (DOE), scientist from University Malaya (UM) and a number of other independentconsultants

Effects of prebiotic activity of Ganoderma lucidum extracts on bifidobacterium species and faecal microflora in vitro

Ganoderma lucidum is a fungus that has long history in Japan and China as traditional medicine with many claims about its health-stimulating properties. Many researches conducted by scientists have proven the medical significance of polysaccharides extracted from G. lucidum such as inhibition of tumour cell, effectiveness in hyperglycaemic and hypoglycaemia, and hypertension treatment. The polysaccharides were also reported to have potential to act as prebiotics to support the growth of probiotic bacteria. Thus, in this study, the effects of polysaccharides extracted from G. lucidum and its fraction were tested on selected Bifidobacterium strains and bacterial microflora from faeces in vitro. Three Bifidobacterium strains used were revived from stock cultures and confirmed as pure culture through microscopic test. Crude polysaccharides from G. lucidum (GLCP) were successfully obtained and fractionated into four types of fraction named as Polysaccharides fraction 1 (PF-1), Polysaccharides fraction 2 (PF-2), Polysaccharides fraction 3 (PF-3) and Polysaccharides fraction 4 (PF-4). PF-2 showed promising results in previous studies (Hamim, 2009) was selected for further test in this study. The growth rate of three types of Bifidobacterium strains was tested in pure culture fermentation. B. pseudocatenulatum G4 grew at the growth rate of 0.67 ± 0.09 h-1. B. breve ATCC 15700 and B. longum BB536 grew at 0.60 ± 0.09 h-1 and 0.64 ± 0.05 h-1, respectively. Glucose was served as control. In pure culture fermentation, 5 batch cultures of tryptone peptone yeast (TPY) medium were supplemented with different carbon sources namely glucose, fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, GLCP and PF-2. The growth patterns of all Bifidobacterium strains increased in each carbon sources used with the highest growth was in FOS and followed by inulin, glucose, PF-2 and GLCP. In mixed culture fermentation, two prebiotic candidates (GLCP and PF-2) and commercial prebiotics (inulin and FOS) were tested to determine their impact to the bacterial microflora simulated using faecal culture. The increment pattern was shown in Bifidobacterium genus with the maximum growth at 24 h were 8.3 ± 0.3 log10 cells/ml for FOS. Meanwhile, maximum growth up to 8.3 ± 0.3, 8.0 ± 0.4, 7.9 ± 0.1 and 7.5 ± 0.2 log10 cells/ml were recorded for inulin, glucose, PF-2 and GLCP, respectively. Growth increase was also shown in Lactobacillus genus and higher than Bifidobacterium genus for FOS fermentation. However, the results were positive as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus genus were considered as beneficial bacteria for the host. For GLCP and PF-2, the increased growth showed promising result as the increases were 0.3 and 0.7 log10 cells/ml for Bifidobacterium genus and 0.7 and 1.0 log10 cells/ml for Lactobacillus genus at 24 h, respectively. On the other hand, the inhibition pattern could still be observed on Salmonella and E. faecalis when compared to glucose (control) in all tests conducted. HPLC result showed that the pattern of lactic acid and acetic acid production might directly result in antimicrobial action. From this research, it can be concluded that Ganoderma lucidum extracts (GLCP and PF-2) have prebiotic capability and can be considered for commercialization in the future

Microwave synthesis, crystal structure, antioxidant, and antimicrobial study of new 6-heptyl-5,6-dihydrobenzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-c]quinazoline compound

Abstract Background Although the development of antibiotic and antioxidant manufacturing, the problem of bacterial resistance and food and/or cosmetics oxidation still needs more efforts to design new derivatives which can help to minimize these troubles. Benzimidazo[1,2-c]quinazolines are nitrogen-rich heterocyclic compounds that possess many pharmaceutical properties such as antimicrobial, anticonvulsant, immunoenhancer, and anticancer. Results A comparative study between two methods, (microwave-assisted and conventional heating approaches), was performed to synthesise a new quinazoline derivative from 2-(2-aminophenyl)-1H-benzimidazole and octanal to produce 6-heptyl-5,6-dihydrobenzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-c]quinazoline (OCT). The compound was characterised using FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR, DIMS, as well as X-ray crystallography. The most significant peak in the 13C NMR spectrum is C-7 at 65.5 ppm which confirms the cyclisation process. Crystal structure analysis revealed that the molecule grows in the monoclinic crystal system P21/n space group and stabilised by an intermolecular hydrogen bond between the N1–H1A…N3 atoms. The crystal packing analysis showed that the molecule adopts zig-zag one dimensional chains. Fluorescence study of OCT revealed that it produces blue light when expose to UV-light and its’ quantum yield equal to 26%. Antioxidant activity, which included DPPH· and ABTS·+ assays was also performed and statistical analysis was achieved via a paired T-test using Minitab 16 software with P < 0.05. Also, the antimicrobial assay against two Gram-positive, two Gram-negative, and one fungus was screened for these derivatives. Conclusions Using microwave to synthesise OCT have drastically reduced reaction time, and increased yield. OCT show good antioxidant activity in one of the tests and moderate antimicrobial activity

Optimization of milk-based medium for efficient cultivation of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 using face-centered central compositeresponse surface methodology

This study was undertaken to optimize skim milk and yeast extract concentration as a cultivation medium for optimal Bifidobacteria pseudocatenulatum G4 (G4) biomass and -galactosidase production as well as lactose and free amino nitrogen (FAN) balance after cultivation period. Optimization process in this study involved four steps: screening for significant factors using 2 3 full factorial design, steepest ascent, optimization using FCCD-RSM, and verification. From screening steps, skim milk and yeast extract showed significant influence on the biomass production and, based on the steepest ascent step, middle points of skim milk (6% wt/vol) and yeast extract (1.89% wt/vol) were obtained. A polynomial regression model in FCCD-RSM revealed that both factors were found significant and the strongest influence was given by skim milk concentration. Optimum concentrations of skim milk and yeast extract for maximum biomass G4 and -galactosidase production meanwhile low in lactose and FAN balance after cultivation period were 5.89% (wt/vol) and 2.31% (wt/vol), respectively. The validation experiments showed that the predicted and experimental values are not significantly different, indicating that the FCCD-RSM model developed is sufficient to describe the cultivation process of G4 using skim-milk-based medium with the addition of yeast extract

Optimization of Milk-Based Medium for Efficient Cultivation of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 Using Face-Centered Central Composite-Response Surface Methodology

This study was undertaken to optimize skim milk and yeast extract concentration as a cultivation medium for optimal Bifidobacteria pseudocatenulatum G4 (G4) biomass and β-galactosidase production as well as lactose and free amino nitrogen (FAN) balance after cultivation period. Optimization process in this study involved four steps: screening for significant factors using 23 full factorial design, steepest ascent, optimization using FCCD-RSM, and verification. From screening steps, skim milk and yeast extract showed significant influence on the biomass production and, based on the steepest ascent step, middle points of skim milk (6% wt/vol) and yeast extract (1.89% wt/vol) were obtained. A polynomial regression model in FCCD-RSM revealed that both factors were found significant and the strongest influence was given by skim milk concentration. Optimum concentrations of skim milk and yeast extract for maximum biomass G4 and β-galactosidase production meanwhile low in lactose and FAN balance after cultivation period were 5.89% (wt/vol) and 2.31% (wt/vol), respectively. The validation experiments showed that the predicted and experimental values are not significantly different, indicating that the FCCD-RSM model developed is sufficient to describe the cultivation process of G4 using skim-milk-based medium with the addition of yeast extract

Assessment parameters for coal-fired generation plant site selection

In order to meet future demand for electricity, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) is committed to the long-term strategic planning in locating statable sites for future development of power stations. Site selection is an important process in the early planning stage of any power plant development as it will have significant implications on the capital investment, operational as well as the environment and socio-economic costs of the power plant. The aim of this presentation is to briefly describe the ten (10) main assessment parameters having the most profound effects on the selection of potential coal-fired generation plant sites.: These assessment parameters were derived based on a survey of approximately 40 experts, comprising from various specialists such as engineers from TNB, senior officers from Department Of Environment Malaysia (DOE), scientist from University Malaya (UM) and a number of other independent consultants