Neil J. Rowan

Medicinal mushrooms and cancer therapy: translating a traditional practice into Western medicine.

Modern medical practice relies heavily on the use of highly purified pharmaceutical compounds whose purity can be easily assessed and whose pharmaceutical activity and toxicity show clear structure-function relationships. In contrast, many herbal medicines contain mixtures of natural compounds that have not undergone detailed chemical analyses and whose mechanism of action is not known. Traditional folk medicine and ethno-pharmacology coupled to bioprospecting have been an important source of many anticancer agents as well as other medicines. With the current decline in the number of new molecular entities from the pharmaceutical industry, novel anticancer agents are being sought from traditional medicine. As the example of medicinal mushrooms demonstrates, however, translating traditional Eastern practices into acceptable evidence-based Western therapies is difficult. Different manufacturing standards, criteria of purity, and under-powered clinical trials make assessment of efficacy and toxicity by Western standards of clinical evidence difficult. Purified bioactive compounds derived from medicinal mushrooms are a potentially important new source of anticancer agents; their assimilation into Western drug discovery programs and clinical trials also provides a framework for the study and use of other traditional medicines.

Inactivation of food-borne enteropathogenic bacteria and spoilage fungi using pulsed-light

The lethality of high-intensity pulsed-light emissions from low and high ultraviolet (UV) light sources on predetermined microbial populations has been investigated. Prior to treatment, the bacterial enteropathogens Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enteritidis and the food-spoilage fungi Aspergillus niger and Fusarium culmorum were seeded separately onto the surface of either tryptone soya yeast extract or malt extract agar plates. Prescribed microbial population densities were applied to the test media and these samples were exposed to one of two light sources. These were low-pressure, xenon filled, flash lamps that produced either high or low UV intensities. They were operated in pulsed mode, being driven by a stacked Blurnlein table generator. Microbial samples were treated by exposure to different numbers of light pulses. The treated bacterial populations were reduced by /spl sim/8 log orders after 1000 light-pulses of the higher UV intensity light and the fungal counts had a corresponding reduction of 4.5 log orders. The fungus, Aspergillus niger, was shown to be significantly more resistant in spore form to the intense UV light compared with Fusarium culmorum. This resistance has been attributed to the high level of UV absorbance associated with the dark pigment present in A. niger. The pulsed light source of lower UV intensity was shown to be significantly less effective in reducing microbial populations.

Medicinal mushrooms: a rapidly developing area of biotechnology for cancer therapy and other bioactivities

Historically, medicinal mushrooms (basidiomycetes) have been shown to have profound health promoting benefits and recent studies, which are reviewed here, are now confirming their medical efficacy and identifying many of the bioactive molecules. Methods of large-scale cultivation by solid substrate and liquid culture fermentations are also briefly described.

Light inactivation of food‐related pathogenic bacteria using a pulsed power source

The effects of high intensity light emissions, produced by a novel pulsed power energization technique (PPET), on the survival of bacterial populations of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (serotype 0157:H7) and Listeria monocytogenes (serotype 4b) were investigated. Using this PPET approach, many megawatts (MW) of peak electrical power were dissipated in the light source in an extremely short energization time (about 1 μs). The light source was subjected to electric field levels greater than could be achieved under conventional continuous operation, which led to a greater production of the shorter bacteriocidal wavelengths of light. In the exposure experiments, pre‐determined bacterial populations were spread onto the surface of Trypone Soya Yeast Extract Agar and were then treated to a series of light pulses (spectral range of 200–530 nm) with an exposure time ranging from 1 to 512 μs. While results showed that as few as 64 light pulses of 1 μs duration were required to reduce E. coli 0157:H7 populations by 99·9% and Listeria populations by 99%, the greater the number of light pulses the larger the reduction in cell numbers (P < 0·01). Cell populations of E. coli 0157:H7 and Listeria were reduced by as much as 6 and 7 log10 orders at the upper exposure level of 512 μs, respectively. Survival data revealed that E. coli 0157:H7 was less resistant to the lethal effects of radiation (P < 0·01). These studies have shown that pulsed light emissions can significantly reduce populations of E. coli 0157:H7 and L. monocytogenes on exposed surfaces with exposure times which are 4–6 orders of magnitude lower than those required using continuous u.v. light sources.

Putative virulence factor expression by clinical and food isolates of Bacillus spp. after growth in reconstituted infant milk formulae

ABSTRACT Forty-seven strains representing 14 differentBacillus species isolated from clinical and food samples were grown in reconstituted infant milk formulae (IMF) and subsequently assessed for adherence to, invasion of, and cytotoxicity toward HEp-2 and Caco-2 cells. Cell-free supernatant fluids from 38 strains (81%) were shown to be cytotoxic, 43 strains (91%) adhered to the test cell lines, and 23 strains (49%) demonstrated various levels of invasion. Of the 21 Bacillus cereus strains examined, 5 (24%) were invasive. A larger percentage of clinically derivedBacillus species (20%) than of similar species tested from the food environment were invasive. Increased invasion occurred after growth of selected Bacillus species in reconstituted IMF containing glucose. While PCR primer studies revealed that many different Bacillus species contained DNA sequences encoding the hemolysin BL (HBL) enterotoxin complex andB. cereus enterotoxin T, not all of these isolates expressed these diarrheagenic genes after growth in reconstituted IMF. Of the 47 Bacillus isolates examined, 3 isolates of B. cereus and 1 isolate ofB. subtilis produced the HBL enterotoxin after 18 h of growth in brain heart infusion broth. However, eight isolates belonging to the species B. cereus,B. licheniformis, B. circulans, and B. megaterium were found to produce this enterotoxin after growth in reconstituted IMF when assessed with theB. cereus enterotoxin (diarrheal type) reversed passive latex agglutination (RPLA) kit. It is concluded that several Bacillus species occurring occasionally in clinical specimens and food samples are of potential medical significance due to the expression of putative virulence factors.

A technique for the prediction of the conditions leading to mould growth in buildings

Epidemiological evidence suggests that the presence of mould growth in buildings can have a detrimental effect on the well-being of occupants. Based on an extensive literature review, growth limits for six generic mould categories have been formulated in terms of the minimum combination of temperature and relative humidity for which growth will occur on building materials. These limits were incorporated within the ESP-r system for building energy and environmental simulation in order to provide a design tool which can predict the likelihood and extent of mould infestation. The systems new predictive capability has been tested against monitored data and mycological samples taken from a mould infested house.

Production of diarrheal enterotoxins and other potential virulence factors by veterinary isolates of bacillus species associated with nongastrointestinal infections.

ABSTRACT With the exceptions of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus species are generally perceived to be inconsequential. However, the relevance of other Bacillus species as food poisoning organisms and etiological agents in nongastrointestinal infections is being increasingly recognized. Eleven Bacillus species isolated from veterinary samples associated with severe nongastrointestinal infections were assessed for the presence and expression of diarrheagenic enterotoxins and other potential virulence factors. PCR studies revealed the presence of DNA sequences encoding hemolysin BL (HBL) enterotoxin complex and B. cereus enterotoxin T (BceT) in five B. cereus strains and in Bacilluscoagulans NB11. Enterotoxin HBL was also harbored by Bacilluspolymyxa NB6. After 18 h of growth in brain heart infusion broth, all seven Bacillus isolates carrying genes encoding enterotoxin HBL produced this toxin. Cell-free supernatant fluids from all 11 Bacillus isolates demonstrated cytotoxicity toward human HEp-2 cells; only one Bacilluslicheniformis strain adhered to this test cell line, and none of the Bacillus isolates were invasive. This study constitutes the first demonstration that Bacillus spp. associated with serious nongastrointestinal infections in animals may harbor and express diarrheagenic enterotoxins traditionally linked to toxigenic B. cereus.

Silver nanoparticles in the environment: Sources, detection and ecotoxicology

The environmental impact of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) has become a topic of interest recently, this is due to the fact that AgNPs have been included in numerous consumer products including textiles, medical products, domestic appliances, food containers, cosmetics, paints and nano-functionalised plastics. The production, use and disposal of these AgNP containing products are potential routes for environmental exposure. These concerns have led to a number of studies investigating the release of particles from nano-functionalised products, the detection of the particles in the aquatic environment and the potential environmental toxicology of these AgNPs to aquatic organisms. The overall aim of this review is to examine methods for the capture and detection of AgNPs, potential toxicity and transmission routes in the aquatic environment.

Inactivation of mycobacterium paratuberculosis by pulsed electric fields

ABSTRACT The influence of treatment temperature and pulsed electric fields (PEF) on the viability of Mycobacterium paratuberculosiscells suspended in 0.1% (wt/vol) peptone water and in sterilized cows milk was assessed by direct viable counts and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). PEF treatment at 50°C (2,500 pulses at 30 kV/cm) reduced the level of viable M. paratuberculosis cells by approximately 5.3 and 5.9 log10 CFU/ml in 0.1% peptone water and in cows milk, respectively, while PEF treatment of M. paratuberculosisat lower temperatures resulted in less lethality. Heating alone at 50°C for 25 min or at 72°C for 25 s (extended high-temperature, short-time pasteurization) resulted in reductions ofM. paratuberculosis of approximately 0.01 and 2.4 log10 CFU/ml, respectively. TEM studies revealed that exposure to PEF treatment resulted in substantial damage at the cellular level to M. paratuberculosis.

Inactivation of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in a test liquid using pulsed electric fields

Experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of pulsed electric fields (PEFs) on the inactivation of microbial populations suspended in liquids using nonflowing and continuous flowing test chambers. Electric fields of /spl sim/30 kV/cm, and a pulse duration of 500 ns, were generated from a coaxial table Blumlein pulse forming network (PFN) and applied to a parallel plate, circular electrode test configuration. Sample microorganisms were grown under standardized conditions and were introduced into test liquids in order to produce known population densities within the treatment celt. The organisms investigated include the mold Aspergillus niger, the yeast Sacckaromyeces cerevisiae, and the bacterial pathogens Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The PEF studies were undertaken at a sample temperature range of 25/spl deg/C-30/spl deg/C, and the effect of the number of pulses on the test microbial population was studied. The results of this investigation showed that the greater the number of pulses applied, the larger the corresponding reduction in microbial cells/spores obtained. With the exception of dormant fungal spores, all of the test organisms were reduced by -3 to 4 log orders after 3000 pulses. The number of B. Cerus cells was reduced by -7.5 log orders after 15 000 pulses, of which 10 000 pulses were applied in a flowing system followed by 5000 pulses in a static system.