Eleven yoghurt samples were collected from local markets in Baghdad to isolate Lactobacillus buchneri. Only 3 isolates of L. buchneri were found and the isolate No. 3 was the most producer of bacteriocin. Bacteriocin was adsorbed 100% onto silicic acid at pH 6.0-7.0. Below or above these pH values, adsorption was decreased, ranging between 35 and 90%. Therefore, pH 6.0 was used for the purification procedure. The purification procedure including silicic acid adsorption/desorption and cation-exchange chromatography (CEC) resulted in a 11.11 fold increase in the final specific activity of pure bacteriocin (1176.47 Au/mg) compared to the culture supernatant which was 32.64 Au/mg. The molecular weight was determined to be about 3.4 kDa. The bacteriocin lost its activity completely after treatment with proteolytic enzymes and it was resistant to non-proteolytic enzymes. The results indicated that bacteriocin at both concentrations (500 and 1000 μg/ml) possesses significant antimicrobial activity against Vibrio parahaemolyticus in contrast with control (P<0.01) and the antimicrobial activity of crude and purified bacteriocin at the concentration of 1,000 μg/ml were higher than the other concentration (500 μg/ml). The antimicrobial activity of purified bacteriocin was significantly higher than that of crude bacteriocin (P<0.01).
The role of specific amino acids namely cysteine, methionine, threonine and asparagine in the protection provided by vamin solution against B-lactam inhibition to E. coli was evaluated in vitro In minimal medium, cells were treated with 32 ug/ml of penicillin G, carbenciLlin, hostacillin, cloxacillin and cephalotin in the presence of specific amino acid supplementation. Deletion of specific amino acids from the media abolished the protection provided by vamin. Threonine was essential for the protection of cells against all tested antibiotics, while cysteine was essential for protection against carbencillin and sephalotin. Deletion of methionine or asparagine abolished the protection against carbencillin and to a less extent cephalotin.
... Show MoreInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. ulcerative colitis (UC) disease is characterized by chronic, persistent, recurrent, and nonspecific intestinal ulcers and mucosal inflammation. This study investigated the protective effects of cinnamic acid on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) induced ulcerative colitis in mice. Forty adult male mice were collected and randomly divided into five groups, group Ӏ received a suspension of distill water and poloxamer, and group ӀӀ received 3% DSS in drinking water for 7 consecutive days. Two treatment groups received an oral suspension of cinnamic acid 50 and 25 mg/kg respectively an
... Show MoreAn enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection and quantitation of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against vero- cytotoxine (VT) producing Escherichia coli serogroup O157:H7 was produced. E. coli O157: H7 lipopolysaccharide was extracted from locally isolated strains by using hot phenol- water method, followed by partial purification using gel filtration chromatography by sepharose- 4B. The purity of the lipopolysaccharide was checked by measuring the protein and nucleic acid content and then used as antigen. Four isolates of vero- cytotoxin producing E. coli serogroup O157:H7 was obtained by culturing 350 stool samples from children suffering from bloody diarrhea. These isolates were identified on bacteriological, s
... Show MoreIfosfamide (IFO), an alkylating chemotherapy agent, is known for its association with neurotoxicity and encephalopathy. This trial was designed to evaluate the protective action of daidzein (DZN) against IFO-induced neurotoxicity in male rats by determining the difference in certain inflammatory and apoptotic markers in the brain tissue of rats. Twenty-eight Wistar rats, weighing 120-150 g, were divided into four groups of seven rats: Group 1 (Control) received no treatment; Group 2 was orally administered DZN (100 mg/kg/day) for seven days; Group 3 received a single intraperitoneal (IP) dose of IFO (500 mg/kg); Group 4 received oral DZN (100 mg/kg/day) for one week prior to a single IP dose of IFO on the seventh day. Twenty-four hours post
... Show MoreCardiac toxicity can occur during the therapy with several cytotoxic drugs, including 5- Fluorouracil (5- FU). It is an antimetabolite that acts during the S phase of the cell cycle and is activated by thymidine phosphorylase into fluorodeoxyuridylate (5 fluoro 2'deoxyuridine 5'monophosphate, 5-FdUMP) that inhibits thymidylate synthase, thus preventing DNA synthesis that leads to imbalanced cell growth and ultimately cell death. It is still a widely used anticancer drug, since 1957. The present study aimed to evaluate the possible cardio-protective effects of ethanolic artichoke extract (Cynara scolymus L.) against 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) induced cardio-toxicity in rats by evaluating serum levels of Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate amin
... Show MoreAsthma is a chronic respiratory disorder of airways characterized by inflammation, hyperresponsiveness, inflammatory cell infiltration, mucous secretion, and remodelling. Ammi majus is medicinal plant belong to family of Apiaceous which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. This study designed to investigate of anti-asthmatic activity of alcoholic extract of Ammi majus in improvement of asthma. Forty-eight healthy female mice divided to six groups Group I: the negative control group (distal water only), Group II: Positive control group (ovalbumin group), Group III: Ammi majus (64 mg/kg/day) with sensitization, Group IV:Ammi majus (128 mg/kg/day) w
... Show MorePurpose: To assess the antioxidant and antineoplastic effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. on oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Materials and Methods: Human squamous cell carcinoma HSCC cells were tested for cytotoxicity by a methanol extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa (MEHSP). After 24, 48, and 72 ...