[Investigation of different drying methods of peppermint [mentha piperita] medical plant]

Background: Agriculture products, especially medical plants after harvest should be processed by different processes such as removal of foreign bodies, washing and cleaning, drying, packaging and so forth. One of main postharvest stages of medical plant especially peppermint is drying process

Objective: The aim of this study is design a solar dryer equipped with double pass collector to drying process of peppermint and comparison their results with traditional drying methods [sun and shade]

Methods: In this study drying process of peppermint with different methods of solar drying [by solar dryer designed in this study] and also traditional drying [shade and sun drying] were investigated and compared

Results: The drying time required for dehydration of peppermint in solar drying method was 150 min, which it was approximately 82% and 55% shorter than to traditional methods of shade and sun. Furthermore, dehydration rate in drying methods of solar drying, sun drying and shade drying were 26.77, 12.48 and 4.48 [kg H2O/kg D.M h], respectively. The results of mathematical modelling indicated that Midli and kucuk [in drying methods of solar and shade] and Aghbashlo et al [in drying method of sun] can be fitted drying curve of this medical plant with high accuracy. Also, solar drying by dryer could be protecting the essential oil of this plant in the best form. The results show that the main components of peppermint essential oil was included: 1,8-Cineole, cisSabinene hydrate, Menthone, Menthofuran, iso-Menthone, Menthol and iso-Menthol

Conclusion: Generally, solar drying method of peppermint was recommended as the best method for postharvest processing of this medical plant

Specific PCR assay for rapid and direct detection of Neisseria meningitidis in cerebrospinal fluid specimens

Neisseria meninigitidis is one of the most frequently encountered microorganisms associated with central nervous system infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate a PCR-based assay for specific and rapid detection of N. meninigitidis in CSF specimens. Since April 2002 to July 2006, 130 CSF specimens were collected from patients suspected of having baterial meningitis. Bacterial isolation and identification was carried out according to the standard bacteriological methods. The PCR was used to amplify a 101bp fragment of capsular transport gene A [ctr A] of N. meningitidis. PCR yielded an amplified product with the expected size of 101 base pair fragment. Sensitivity test proved 500 mg of N. meningitidis DNA as the final detection limit and specificity test revealed no cross-reaction for a wide range of respiratory pathogenic organisms. The PCR assay was more sensitive than the bacterial culturing. It might be possible to apply this procedure for rapid diagnosis of meningococci in clinical samples

survey of traditional Iranian food products for contamination with toxigenic Clostridium botulinum

This study aimed to determine the rate of Clostridium botulinum contamination in some traditional Iranian food products [cheese, kashk and salted fish] and evaluate the efficacy of the mouse bioassay method in detection of C. botulinum toxins in these foods. A total of 131 samples [57 cheese, 11 kashk and 63 salted fish] were collected and examined to determine the rate of contamination by C. botulinum. Standard monovalent anti-toxins were used to determine the types of toxin. C. botulinum bacteria were detected in 4.58% of the examined samples [1.52% of cheese and 3.06% of salted fish samples]. While no contamination was detected in the kashk samples, C. botulinum types A and E were found to be dominant in cheese and salted fish samples, respectively. These results indicate-some traditional Iranian foods may be contaminated with different types of C. botulinum, and the consumption of these products, either raw or cooked, may contribute to food-borne intoxications

prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial uropathogens isolated from pediatric patients

Urinary tract infection [UTI] is considered as the most common bacterial infectious disease seen among the pediatric patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial uropathogens isolated from the pediatric patients with urinary tract infections. This descriptive study was conducted in Children Medical Center, Tehran, Iran from March 2006 to Feb 2007. Clean-catch midstream urine specimens were obtained from the patients and cultured on the appropriate bacteriological media. Bacterial isolates were identified by standard biochemical and serological tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed according to CLSI guidelines. From 14199 urine specimens, 16.2% had positive results for bacterial cultures. Nine hundred twenty one strains were identified as Escherichia coli; 412 as Klebsiella spp., 285 as Coagulase negative Staphylocococci, 202 as Enterococcus spp., 158 as Pseudomonas spp., and 83 as Staphylococcus aureus. E. coli isolates showed high resistance to carbenicillin [68%], ampicillin [96%], trimethoprim-sulfomethoxazol [70%] and kanamycin [65%]. More than 30% of isolates of Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacter spp. have shown high degree of resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Our findings reinforce the need for ongoing investigation to show trends in antibiotic resistance, which can help to prescribing of antibiotics in clinics