ISSN 2736-1756
Research Article
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2017
Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr
© 2017 International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Antimicrobial activity of propolis extract on bacteria isolated from nasopharynx of patients with upper respiratory tract infection admitted to Central Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria
E. A. Ophori* and E. C. Wemabu
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences University of Benin, Edo state, Benin City, Nigeria.
Accepted 4 August, 2017
Abstract
The study was aimed at determining the bacterial agents of the upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and the susceptibility of isolates to propolis. Propolis extract was obtained by 70% ethanol and serial dilutions of 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 10 µg/ml prepared. A total of 250 throat swabs were obtained from patients (age between 15 - 30 years) which were diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection attending the central hospital, Benin City. Samples were collected between February and December, 2008 from 142 (56.8%) males and 108 (43.2%) females, inoculated on blood agar, eosin methylene blue agar and chocolate agar and incubated at 37°C for 24 - 48 h aerobically except for chocolate agar which was incubated microaerophically. The isolates were characterized by standard microbiological procedures. Of the 250 samples, 160 (64%) had positive cultures with Haemophilus influenzae having the highest prevalence (20.8%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (19.2%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (12.0%), Moraxella catarrhalis (10%), Streptococcus pyogenes (2%). The highest rate of isolates was from the age group of 15 - 18 years (91). This was significantly higher than other groups p > 0.05. M. catarrhalis and S. pyogenes were not isolated in age group 23 – 26. propolis antimicrobial activity revealed that all isolates were sensitive to propolis at all concentrations with K. pneumoniae and S. pneumonia having zones of inhibition of 32 and 30 mm respectively. The findings suggest that propolis is a very effective antimicrobial agent for the treatment and management of URTI caused by bacterial species.
Key words: Upper respiratory tract infection, minimum inhibitory concentration, propolis, bacteria, antimicrobial activity.
E. C. Wemabu, E. A. Ophori*
Page: 1 - 10
Research Article
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2017
Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr
© 2017 International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Mycoflora of stored “Ofada” and “Abakaliki” rice in Lagos and Ogun States, Southwestern Nigeria
Y. M. Somorin1* and S. A. Bankole2
1Department of Microbiology, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, P. O. Box 851, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
2Department of Microbiology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, P. M. B. 2002, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Accepted 22 June, 2017
Abstract
The presence of fungal contaminants in Ofada and Abakaliki rice varieties under storage in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria were examined. The fungal species isolated from the Ofada rice were Actinomycetes spp., Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus tamarii, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Fusarium compacticum, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium proliferatum, Penicillium oxalicum, Rhizopus nigricans, Rhizopus oryzae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The Abakaliki rice was contaminated with A. flavus, A. niger, A. tamarii, F. compacticum, F. oxysporum, F. proliferatum, Penicillium citrinu, P. oxalicum, R. nigricans, R. oryzae and S. cerevisiae. A. niger (80%) was the predominant fungal species while Actinomycetes spp. (6.7%) was the least isolated. Some of these fungi are known to produce mycotoxins which have several health and economic implications. The presence of such species as seen in this study may show a potential risk of mycotoxin contamination in Ofada and Abakaliki rice varieties.
Key words: Fungi, contaminants, Ofada, Abakaliki, rice, mycotoxin, mycoflora.
S. A. Bankole, Y. M. Somorin*
Page: 1 - 10
Research Article
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2017
Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr
© 2017 International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Protective effect of Glycyrrhiza glabra polysaccharides against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in rats
Liang Renjie*, Shi Shidi and Sun Changsen
School of Life Science, Taizhou University, Zhejiang, 317000, P. R. China.
Accepted 5 July, 2017
Abstract
The objective of the present study was to investigate potential of Glycyrrhiza glabra polysaccharides to offer protection against acute liver injury in rats. Rats were administered a single oral dose carbon tetrachloride (CCl4, 640 mg/kg b.w., 1:1 in groundnut oil) and sacrificed 7 days of post-treatment. Hepatic damage was assessed by employing biochemical parameters. Our results demonstrated that treatment of rats with G. glabra polysaccharides significantly prevented the increased activities of and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), ALP and LDH in serum. G. glabra polysaccharides treatment also restored CCl4-induced altered caspase-3, TGF- 1 and TGF- 1 mRNA. Our findings provide evidences to demonstrate that G. glabra polysaccharides treatment significantly offsets CCl4-induced liver injury in rats.
Key words: Glycyrrhiza glabra polysaccharides, rat, TGF- 1 mRNA, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), carbon tetrachloride.
Shi Shidi and Sun Changsen, Liang Renjie*
Page: 1 - 10
Research Article
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2017
Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr
© 2017 International Scholars Journals
Full length Research Paper
Sequence analysis of the groEL gene and its potential application in identification of pathogenic bacteria
Hu Yushan1,2, Luo Lei1,2, Liu Weijia1,2 and Chen Xiaoguang1*
1Department of Pathogenic Biology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
2The Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Guangzhou, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Accepted 22 July, 2017
Abstract
This study aims to develop a rapid method for identifying pathogenic bacteria based on the sequence difference of pathogenic bacteria groEL gene. A pair of universal degenerate primers was designed to amplify the groEL genes of 34 major species of 16 genus’s of pathogenic bacteria. The conservation, variation and the interspecies phylogenetic relations of the groEL gene sequences were informatically analysed. Our results showed that the groEL gene fragments of the selected pathogenic bacteria could be amplified using the degenerate primer. The results of the sequence comparative study indicated that the groEL gene is characterized by conservation and variation, while the variation regions are distributed separately among the conserved regions, just like the mosaic. This conservation and variation coexistence of pathogenic bacteria groEL genes could provide a solid basis for the rapid identification of pathogenic bacteria and the development of a diagnostic microarray.
Key words: groEL, homology, phylogenesis.
Liu Weijia and Chen Xiaoguang*, Luo Lei, Hu Yushan
Page: 1 - 10
Research Article
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2017
Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr
© 2017 International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Quantification of aflatoxin B1 in ready-to-use food thickeners in South-east geo-political zone in Nigeria
G. I. Okwu1, Premila N. Achar2* and Santosh K. Sharma3
1Department of Microbiology, Ambros Alli University Ekpoma, Nigeria.
2Department of Biology and Physics, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA.
3Department of Botany, Rajasthan University, Jaipur, India-302004, India.
Accepted 4 August, 2017
Abstract
A total of 150 ready to use food thickeners were randomly collected from various markets in both urban and rural settings. Four of the samples tested Achi (Brachystegia eurycoma), Akpalata ( Afzelia africana), Ofor (Detarium microcarpum), and Ukpo (Mucuna flagellipes) were contaminated with fungal flora. The most common and prevalent fungi observed on incubated powdered form of food thickeners on media, were the Aspergillus group namely Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus niger. Pure isolates of A. flavus and A. parasiticus from various food thickeners from open markets in Nigeria were screened for their potential to produce aflatoxin B1 (AFB 1) on agar media. Ultraviolet (UV) light, a standard procedure was used to differentiate the toxin from non-toxin form of Aspergillus species. Further, aflatoxin quantification was done using thin layer chromatography (TLC) followed by fluorometry. A. flavus was more prevalent than A. parasiticus in all samples. Toxin and non-toxin isolates were grouped as per bright greenish-yellow fluorescence (BGYF) presumptive test under UV light. The amounts of AFB1 from A. flavus isolates ranged between 0.94 to 3.83 µg/g of agar and all positive A. parasiticus ranged from 0.22 - 2.87 µg/g of agar. Analysis of food thickeners also revealed a high incidence and alarming levels of naturally produced aflatoxin. The levels of AFB1 ranged between 4.0 and 95 µg/g in various food thickeners tested. That the presence of aflatoxin in food thickeners poses a potential health threat to consumers in this part of Nigeria and elsewhere is discussed.
Key words: Ready-to-use food thickeners, Aspergillus sp., aflatoxin B1, thin layer chromatography, fluorometry.
G. I. Okwu, Premila N. Achar* and Santosh K. Sharma
Page: 1 - 10
Short Communication
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2017
Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr
© 2017 International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Isolation and partial characterization of a bacteriophage infecting the shrimp pathogen Vibrio harveyi
Parichat Phumkhachorn and Pongsak Rattanachaikunsopon*
Department of Biological Science, Ubon Ratchathani University, Warin Chamrap, Ubon Ratchathani 34190, Thailand.
Accepted 29 April, 2017
Abstract
A bacteriophage infecting Vibrio harveyi was isolated from shrimp pond water, it was designated PW2. It infected all strains of V. harveyi but not other bacteria used in this study. The phage adsorption rate increased rapidly in the first 15 min of infection to 80% and continued to increase to 90% within 30 min of infection. The stability of phage PW2 was dependent on temperature and pH. It was inactivated by heating at 90°C for 30 min and by treating at pH 2, 3, 11and 12. From its one step growth curve, latent and burst periods were 30 and 120 min, respectively with a burst size of about 78 plaque-forming unit (pfu) per infected center. As analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, phage PW2 had an icosahedral head (50 ± 3.8 nm in diameter) with a noncontractile tail of 136 ± 6.2 nm long and 11 ± 0.5 nm wide and belongs to the Siphoviridae family. Six structural proteins (75, 60, 35, 30, 20 and 15 kDa) were detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, its genome was found to be double stranded DNA with an approximate size of 46 kb.
Key words: Bacteriophage, shrimp, Vibrio harveyi.
Parichat Phumkhachorn, Pongsak Rattanachaikunsopon*
Page: 1 - 10