Inhibitory effects of several essential oils towards salmonella typhimurium, salmonella paratyphi A and salmonella paratyphi B

Plant essential oils are natural products extracted from plants and because of their antimicrobial properties can be used as natural additives in foods. They are also useful for decontamination of food-borne pathogens and can be a safe additive in foods. The antimicrobial activities of essential oils belonging to Saturiea hortensis, Thymus vulgaris, Mentha polegium, Cuminum cyminum, Lavandula officinalis and Mentha viridis L. [spearmint] were investigated at different concentrations [0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1, 2, 5 and 10%v/v] against Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella paratyphi A and Salmonella paratyphi B by using the agar well diffusion method. Essential oils showed inhibitory effect on Salmonella spp. in the agar well diffusion assay. In addition, the capability of essential oils for decontamination of minced row beef, ground beef, minced raw chicken and minced raw fish inoculated with Salmonella spp. at 0.1 and 0.5%v/v were assessed. Reduction of the Salmonella spp. population was observed following the inoculation of the cultures with 0.1 and 0.5%v/v essential oils

Normal value of BMD [bone mineral density] in Pakistani student nurses and its relation with age and other factors

The aim of this study was to evaluate the BMD in younger age group. It was a cross-sectional observational study done in January 2003. 223 subjects were taken [all females] of age group 16-25 years. Heel Ultrasound procedure was done on all these subjects using a "Clinical Bone Sonometer" and their T-score was plotted against age. The results of the study showed that young female nurses gain bone minerals with increasing age in this group