Testing the antimicrobial activity of essential oils

The vapor phase of some essential oils proved to have antimicrobial activity. Utilization of the vapor phase of Eos is presently understood as one of the possible alternatives to synthetic food preservatives which could be used in the future. However, testing the vapor phase of EOs against microorganisms causing food-borne diseases (e.g. Salmonella enteritidis or Staphylococcus aureus) or food spoilage is relatively new. Consequently, due to the large number of known EOs, research on their antimicrobial activity is still largely in the phase of in vitro rather than in vivo testing. Moreover, no standard and reliable method for fast screening of a wide range of samples exists. Thus, the aim of this study is to show results concerning tests of the antimicrobial activity of EOs against S. enteritidis or S. aureus, which were conducted by two modifications of the disc volatilization method we developed. The lately developed method has the potential to become widely used for fast screening of EO antimicrobial activity in the vapor phase

Long-term antifungal activity of volatile essential oil components released from mesoporous silica materials

[EN] Antimicrobial volatile substances from plants have become known as a suitable alternative to synthetic pesticides and food preservatives. The study tested the antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger of seven volatile essential oil components from plants allyl isothiocyanate, carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde, diallyl disulfide, eugenol, thymol, and thymoquinone. To provide long-term effects by controlled release and ease of application, these substances were encapsulated into mesoporous silica material MCM-41 and then compared to the effects of pure substances. Significant antifungal activity was verified in five out of the seven tested substances. These results were correlated with the evaporation rate of pure and encapsulated substances. It has been proven that by encapsulating selected volatiles, excluding sulfur compounds, their long-term effectiveness is ensured by controlled release and easy handling, with positive effects for their antifungal activity.The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Czech Republic Government (Postdok CZU: ESF and MEYS CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0040) and to CIGA (Project number: 20132024). Also, we wish to thank Mrs. Beth Green for language control.Janatova, A.; Bernardos Bau, A.; Smid, J.; Frankova, A.; Lhotka, M.; Kourimská, L.; Pulkrabek, J.... (2015). Long-term antifungal activity of volatile essential oil components released from mesoporous silica materials. Industrial Crops and Products. 67:216-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.01,019S2162206

The antifungal activity of essential oils in combination with warm air flow against postharvest phytopathogenic fungi in apples

Essential oils (EOs) are strong plant-derived antimicrobials. For their efficient use in the agri-food industry, the problems with technology of their application have to be solved. In vitro antifungal activity of cinnamon, oregano, lemongrass and clove essential oils (EOs) was tested by innovative method using EO in combination with warm air flow (WAF). EOs in concentrations from 0.25 to 512 mL/L of air were tested against eleven phytopathogenic fungi. Application of EOs in concentration of 4 and 16 mL/L by WAF method was used for treatment of apples inoculated with Penicillium expansum. Detailed sensory analysis of treated apples was performed. The WAF was more effective compare to standard disc volatilization method (DVM), the average minimum inhibitory concentrations in vitro were 5.6 mL/L during 5 min WAF treatment, compared to 136 mL/L during the DVM 24 h treatment. EOs applied by WAF delayed the incidence and development of P. expansum on apples with minimal adverse effect on their sensory profile. The WAF treatment could be considered for the development of antifungal treatments in the agrifood industry.This study was supported by the European Social Fund in the Czech Republic - project CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0040 (Postdok CZU), and by Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, project No. LD13013, and CULS Internal Grant Agency (CIGA 20162004). The author wish to thank Beth Green for the proofread.Frankova, A.; Smid, J.; Bernardos Bau, A.; Finkousova, A.; Marsik, P.; Novotny, D.; Legarová, V.... (2016). The antifungal activity of essential oils in combination with warm air flow against postharvest phytopathogenic fungi in apples. Food Control. 68:62-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.03.024S62686

The Effect of Mycotoxins and Silymarin on Liver Lipidome of Mice with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Milk thistle-based dietary supplements have become increasingly popular. The extract from milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is often used for the treatment of liver diseases because of the presence of its active component, silymarin. However, the co-occurrence of toxic mycotoxins in these preparations is quite frequent as well. The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in composition of liver lipidome and other clinical characteristics of experimental mice fed by a high-fat methionine-choline deficient diet inducing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The mice were exposed to (i) silymarin, (ii) mycotoxins (trichothecenes, enniatins, beauvericin, and altertoxins) and (iii) both silymarin and mycotoxins, and results were compared to the controls. The liver tissue extracts were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Using tools of univariate and multivariate statistical analysis, we were able to identify 48 lipid species from the classes of diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols, free fatty acids, fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids and phospholipids clearly reflecting the dysregulation of lipid metabolism upon exposure to mycotoxin and/or silymarin

Data publication: Ion emission from warm dense matter produced by irradiation with a soft x-ray free-electron laser

Data set on the ion emission of different materials. Each dataset is separate and titled with the chemical symbol or abbreviation of the specific material

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