[Antibacterial effects of ethanolic extract of walnut leaves [juglans regia] on propionibacterium acnes]

Acne is one of the medical problems and propionibacterium acnes is the pathogenic agent that has received a considerable attention. Different parts of Juglans regia have been shown to have antibacterial activity on many bacteria. Its leaves have antioxidant property and if it shows antibacterial effect on propionibacterium acnes, it might be an alternative drug for the treatment of this problem. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the antibacterial effects of walnut leaves on propionibacterium acnes in vitro. In this experimental study, ethanolic extract of walnut leaves was examined for antibacterial activities on propionibacterium acnes using the disk-diffusion minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC], minimum bacterial concentration [MBC] and macrodilution methods. Ampicillin [10 micro g] was used as a positive control. Ethanolic extract of walnut leaves had an inhibitory effect on Propionibacterium acnes using the agar-diffusion and macrodilution methods. The most inhibition zone was 25 +/- 1.7 mm in 150 mg/ml concentration. The minimum inhibitory concentration was 12.5 mg/ml while the minimum bactericidal concentration was 15 mg/ml. These findings showed that ethanolic extract of walnut leaves had antibacterial effect on Propionibacterium acnes and may be considered as an alternative drug for the treatment of external infections due to this microorganism

Antibiotic resistance pattern of staphylococcus strains isolated from orange and apple juices in Shahre-kord, Iran

One of the main routes of transmission of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is through food production. The antibiotics that are used to control diseases are transferred to human through food stuff such as meat, milk, fruit, fruit juices, water and lead to the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria to human populations. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of antibiotic resistance of staphylococcus strains isolated from orange and apple juices in Shahre-Kord, Iran. This descriptive-sectional study was carried out on a total of 32 bacterial isolates of staphylococci [4 Staphylococcus aureus strains and 28 Staphylococcus epidermidis strains] isolated from 360 fruit juice samples tested in Shahre-kord. Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed using disc diffusion method and data were analyzed using fishers Z test. Staphylococcus aureus showed 25% resistance to five antibiotics which included tetracycline, co-trimoxazole, amoxicillin, erythromycin and methicillin. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most resistant bacteria to erythromycin. Twenty five percent of the Staphylococcus aureus strains and 64.28% of the Staphylococcus epidermidis strains were resistant to two or more than two of the antibiotics used in this study. The results showed that the vast majority of the bacterial isolates were resistant to one or more than one of the antibiotics studied. It is possible for bacterial resistance to result from food products like fruit juices. Therefore it is necessary to restrict the use of antibiotics and control the production, transportation of fruit juices

[Prevalence of bacterial contamination in orange and apple juices and correlation with some other factors in Shahrekord, 1385]

Fruit juices are becoming an important part of the modern diet among many communities. These juices can be contaminated with bacterial pathogens, leading to different gastrointestinal infections. This study was aimed to assess the prevalence of bacterial contamination in orange and apple juices and its correlation with some other factors. In this descriptive-analytical study, 360 apple and orange juice samples produced of three internal factories with less than six and more than six months of production were examined microbiologically, from August to December 2006 in Shahrekord. Data were analyzed by SPSS software, using Chi-square test. We found a rate of 4.4% contaminated fruit juices with a mean total isolated bacterial count [TBC] of 1.45 x10[3] cfu/ml. Isolated Bacteria included Staphylococcus epidermidis in 10 [62.5%], Staphylococcus aureus in 3 [19%], Bacillus subtilis in 2 [12.5%] and Bacillus cereus in 1 [6%] samples. Data analyses revealed no significant difference between contaminated samples and kind of fruit juices or factories [P>0.05]. However, a statistically significant difference was detected between contaminated samples and production time [P<0.01]. Based on our findings, we recommend consuming these products within six months of manufacturing as well as improving the maintenance and transporting conditions