Hany M. Yehia

Antimicrobial activity of pomegranate rind peel extracts

The pomegranate, Punica granatum L., is an ancient, mystical, unique fruit borne on a small, long-living tree cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region. Pomegranate is used in several systems of medicine for a variety of ailments. The synergistic action of the pomegranate constituents appears to be superior to that of single constituents. P. garantum , have been reported to have antimicrobial activity against a range of Gram positive and negative bacteria. Pomegranate formulations containing ferrous salts have enhanced although on short-term. The aim of this experiment is to determine the antimicrobial activities of combinations of pomegranate rind extract with range of metal salts with the addition of vitamin C. Phytochemical analyses was made to determine the active inhibitors in rind extract, including phenolics and flavonoids.

Effect of dietary mannan oligosaccharide from Saccharomyces cerevisiae on live performance of broilers under Clostridium perfringens challenge

A 30-day broiler cage trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) from one commercial product (SAF-Mannan) on growth parameters, gut health and control pathogen colonization of broilers under Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) challenge. One hundred, 0-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were allocated in 4 experimental treatments for 30 days. The four dietary treatments were T1, standard broiler basal diets without any medication as a control (+CONT); T2, basal diets as in T1 plus C. perfringens challenge (-CONT); T3, enramycin 0.1 g/kg of feed plus C. perfringens challenge (ENRA); T4, SAF-Mannan at 0.5 g/kg in starter and finisher diets plus C. perfringens challenge (SAF). Overall, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and body weight gain (BWG) in treatments ENRA and SAF were significantly better (P<0.01) than the –CONT treatment, whereas treatment +CONT was intermediate and not different from SAF. Feed intake (FI) was not influenced by treatment. SAF-Mannan supplementation was able to lower the ileal C. perfringens count as compared to all other treatments (P<0.05). The changes in C. perfringens count appear in parallel to observed improvement in the cumulative FCR. The results from this study clearly indicated that SAF-Mannan could act as a replacement for antimicrobial growth promoters in broilers (AGPs). SAF-Mannan level of 0.05% was enough to achieve a response competitive with that of the antibiotic.

Prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni in chicken produced by major poultry companies in Saudi Arabia

BackgroundCampylobacter is a foodborne pathogen that is commonly associated with chicken. The aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni (as affected by refrigerated storage) in chicken samples obtained from the wholesale poultry market in the northern part of Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia.FindingsA gradual increase in the number of positive samples was noted during storage at 4°C. On days 1, 3, and 7, the number of positive samples were 10 (30.305%), 15 (45.45%), and 27 (81.81%), respectively. Of 99 tested samples, 52 (52.25%) were positive for Campylobacter jejuni. Protein profiling by Sodium dodecyl sulfate -Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to identify Campylobacter jejuni. The results were verified using Analytical Profile Index (API Campy system, Marcy l’Etoile, France). Forty-three (82.69%) positive isolates were identified as C. jejuni subsp. jejuni 2, 5 isolates as C. jejuni subsp. jejuni 1 (9.61%), and 4 isolates as C. jejuni subsp. doylei (7.69).ConclusionC. jejuni positive samples increased rapidly during storage at 4°C for approximately 1 wk. Our results also indicated a connection between the protein profiles on SDS-PAGE and API Campy used for the identification of C. jejuni.

Shelf-life of smoked eel fillets treated with chitosan or thyme oil

The present study examined the effect of natural antimicrobials: Chitosan, thyme oil and their combination, on the shelf-life of smoked eel fillets stored under vacuum packaging (VP) at 4°C. Based on sensory odor data smoked eel fillets had a shelf-life of 35 (control), 42 (thyme treated and>49 (thyme, chitosan-thyme treated) days. The thiobarbituric acid value (TBA) value of the control eel sample was significantly higher than the chitosan-thyme-treated eel samples. The use of chitosan singly, or in combination with thyme oil reduced lipid oxidation (TBA) of the smoked eel samples. A trimethylamine nitrogen (TMA-N) value of 10mgN/100g, could be suggested as an indication of smoked eel spoilage initiation. Control and treated eel reached total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) values of 13.1-31.5mgN/100g below the maximum permissible level of TVB-N in fish and fishery products. Eel samples reached the value of 7.0logcfu/g (Total Plate Count, TPC) on days 35 (smoked) and 42 (thyme treated), whereas both chitosan and chitosan-thyme treated eel samples never reached this limit value. Results of our study show thyme or chitosan (singly, or in combination) inhibit the growth of mesophilic bacteria and extend the shelf-life of smoked eel.

Bone Marrow Cell Therapy on 1,2-Dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-Induced Colon Cancer in Rats

Background/Aims: Stem cell based therapies are being under focus due to their possible role in treatment of various tumors. Bone marrow stem cells believed to have anticancer potential and are preferred for their activities by stimulating the immune system, migration to the site of tumor and ability for inducting apoptosis in cancer cells. The current study was aimed to investigate the tumor suppressive effects of bone marrow cells (BMCs) in 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon cancer in rats. Methods: The rats were randomly allocated into four groups: control, BMCs alone, DMH alone and BMCs with DMH. BMCs were injected intrarectally while DMH was injected subcutaneously at 20 mg/kg body weight once a week for 15 weeks. Histopathological examination and gene expression of survivin, β-catenin and multidrug resistance-1 (MDR-1) by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in rat colon tissues. This is in addition to oxidative stress markers in colon were performed across all groups. Results: The presence of aberrant crypt foci was reordered once histopathological examination of colon tissue from rats which received DMH alone. Administration of BMCs into rats starting from zero-day of DMH injection improved the histopathological picture which showed a clear improvement in mucosal layer, few inflammatory cells infiltration periglandular and in the lamina propria. Gene expression in rat colon tissue demonstrated that BMCs down-regulated survivin, β-catenin, MDR-1 and cytokeratin 20 genes expression in colon tissues after colon cancer induction. Amelioration of the colon status after administration of MSCs has been evidenced by a major reduction of lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide, and increasing of glutathione content and superoxide dismutase along with catalase activities. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that BMCs have tumor suppressive effects in DMH-induced colon cancer as evidenced by down-regulation of survivin, β-catenin, and MDR-1 genes and enhancing the antioxidant activity.

In Vitro and In Vivo Control of Secondary Bacterial Infection Caused by Leishmania major

Bacterial infections of cutaneous leishmaniasis cause skin ulcers on mice, resulting in increased tissue deterioration, and these infections can be controlled with liquid allicin. To isolate and identify the incidences of real secondary bacterial infections in mice, we performed the current study by injecting mice (n = 50) with Leishmania major. L. major infections were initiated by an intramuscular injection of 0.1 mL Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI 1640 media/mouse (107 promastigote/mL)). Scarring appeared 2–6 weeks after injection, and the bacteria were isolated from the skin ulcer tissues. Allicin (50 µL/mL) and ciprofloxacin (5 μg; Cip 5) were used for controlling L. major and bacteria. One hundred samples from skin ulcers of mice were examined, and 200 bacterial colonies were isolated. Forty-eight different genera and species were obtained and identified by Gram staining and physiological and biochemical characterization using identification kits. All samples were positive for secondary bacterial infections. Of the isolates, 79.16% were identified as Gram-negative bacteria, and 28.84% were identified as Gram-positive bacteria; only one yeast species was found. Interestingly, pure allicin liquid at a concentration 50 µL/mL exhibited antibacterial activity against a wide range of Gram-negative and some Gram-positive bacteria, in addition to yeast, and was 71.43% effective. Antimicrobial resistance patterns of all genera and species were determined using 15 different antibiotics. Allicin (50 µL/mL) and Cip 5 were the most effective against L. major and 92.30% of isolated bacteria. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was the most resistant bacterium to the tested antibiotics with a survival rate of 73.33%, and it exhibited resistance to allicin.

Studies on Molecular Characterizations of the Outer Membrane Proteins, Lipids Profile, and Exopolysaccharides of Antibiotic Resistant Strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Susceptibility of the tested Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain to two different antibiotics, tetracycline (TE) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), was carried out using liquid dilution method. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of TE and CIP were 9.0 and 6.0 mg/100 mL, respectively. Some metabolic changes due to both, the mode of action of TE and CIP on P. aeruginosa and its resistance to high concentrations of antibiotics (sub-MIC) were detected. The total cellular protein contents decreased after antibiotic treatment, while outer membrane protein (OMP) contents were approximately constant for both treated and untreated cells. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis of the OMPs for untreated and TE and CIP treated cells indicated that the molecular changes were achieved as; lost in, induction and stability of some protein bands as a result of antibiotics treatment. Five bands (with mol. wt. 71.75, 54.8, 31.72, 28.63, and 20.33 KDa) were stable in both treated and untreated tested strains, while two bands (with mol. wt. 194.8 and 118.3 KDa) were induced and the lost of only one band (with mol. wt. 142.5 KDa) after antibiotics treatment. On the other hand, total lipids and phospholipids increased in antibiotic treated cells, while neutral lipids decreased. Also, there was observable stability in the number of fatty acids in untreated and treated cells (11 fatty acids). The unsaturation index was decreased to 56% and 17.6% in both TE and CIP treatments, respectively. The produced amount of EPSs in untreated cultures of P. aeruginosa was relatively higher than in treated cultures with sub-MICs of TE and CIP antibiotics. It was also observed that the amounts of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) increased by increasing the incubation period up to five days of incubation in case of untreated and antibiotic treated cultures.