Screening of some essential oils against Trichosporon species.

White Piedra is a superficial mycoses characterized by nodules on the hair shaft, caused by the basidiomycetous yeast Trichosporon species. In this study 25 essential oils were extracted and screened against two Trichosporon species i.e. Trichosporon asahii and Trichosporon cutaneum. Both these fungi procured from MTCC Chandigarh were maintained on yeast malt agar plates and tubes at 25oC. Two screening methods viz., agar well diffusion assay and minimum inhibitory concentration were adopted for the study. The results showed that the maximum anti-yeast activity against T. asahii and T. cutaneum was demonstrated by oil of Mentha piperita showing full inhibition of both the fungi, Melaleuca alternifolia with an inhibition zone of 45 and 40 mm, Cymbopogon winterians with inhibition zone of 45 and 45 mm and Cymbopogon flexuosus with 35 and 30 mm inhibition zones. The oil of Trachyspermum ammi exhibited 10 and 20 mm, Abelmoschus moschatus exhibited 30 and 20 mm, Salvia sclarea showed 20 and 18 mm and Jasminum officinale exhibited 25 and 15 mm inhibition zones showing moderate activity. The oil of Cyperus scariosus, Pogostemon patchouli and Rosa damascene showed no inhibition zone against both the fungi while Vetiveria zizanoides exhibited no inhibition in case of T. asahii and inhibition zone of 10 mm in case of T. cutaneum demonstrating comparatively low activity against both the fungi. These results support that the essential oils can be used to cure superficial mycoses and these oils may have significant role as pharmaceuticals and preservatives.

Inhibitory effect of essential oils against Trichosporon ovoides causing Piedra Hair Infection

Piedra, is an asymptomatic fungal infection of the hair shaft, resulting in the formation of nodules of different hardness on the infected hair. The infection also known as Trichomycosis nodularis is a superficial fungal infection arising from the pathogen being restricted to the stratum corneum with little or no tissue reaction. The nodules are a concretion of hyphae and fruiting bodies of the fungus. Two varieties of Piedra may be seen, Black Piedra and White Piedra. The fungus Trichosporon ovoides is involved in the occurrence of both types of Piedras. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of selected essential oils for the control of growth of the fungus and to determine whether the antifungal effect was due to the major compounds of the oils. Two screening methods viz. Agar well diffusion assay and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration were adopted for the study. MIC and MFC were determined by tube dilution method. Essential oils from Eucalyptus, Ocimum basilicum, Mentha piperita, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon winterians, Trachyspermum ammi, Zingiber officinalis, Citrus limon, Cinnamomon zeylanicum, Salvia sclarea, Citrus aurantifolia, Melaleuca alternifolia, Citrus aurantium, Citrus bergamia, Pogostemon pathchouli, Cedrus atlantica, Jasminum officinale, Juniperus communis, Abelmoschus moschatus, Cyperus scariosus, Palargonium graveolens, Boswellia carterii, Rosa damascene, Veteveria zizanoides and Commiphora myrrha were evaluated. The essential oils of Cymbopogon winterians, Mentha piperita, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Melaleuca alternifolia and Eucalyptus globulus were proved to be most effective against the fungus Trichosporon ovoides.

Inhibitory effect of essential oils against Trichosporon ovoides causing Piedra Hair Infection

Piedra, is an asymptomatic fungal infection of the hair shaft, resulting in the formation of nodules of different hardness on the infected hair. The infection also known as Trichomycosis nodularis is a superficial fungal infection arising from the pathogen being restricted to the stratum corneum with little or no tissue reaction. The nodules are a concretion of hyphae and fruiting bodies of the fungus. Two varieties of Piedra may be seen, Black Piedra and White Piedra. The fungus Trichosporon ovoides is involved in the occurrence of both types of Piedras. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of selected essential oils for the control of growth of the fungus and to determine whether the antifungal effect was due to the major compounds of the oils. Two screening methods viz. Agar well diffusion assay and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration were adopted for the study. MIC and MFC were determined by tube dilution method. Essential oils from Eucalyptus, Ocimum basilicum, Mentha piperita, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon winterians, Trachyspermum ammi, Zingiber officinalis, Citrus limon, Cinnamomon zeylanicum, Salvia sclarea, Citrus aurantifolia, Melaleuca alternifolia, Citrus aurantium, Citrus bergamia, Pogostemon pathchouli, Cedrus atlantica, Jasminum officinale, Juniperus communis, Abelmoschus moschatus, Cyperus scariosus, Palargonium graveolens, Boswellia carterii, Rosa damascene, Veteveria zizanoides and Commiphora myrrha were evaluated. The essential oils of Cymbopogon winterians, Mentha piperita, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Melaleuca alternifolia and Eucalyptus globulus were proved to be most effective against the fungus Trichosporon ovoides.

Studies on strains of Trichoderma spp. from high altitude of Garhwal Himalayan region.

Two species of Trichoderma i.e. T. harzianum and T. viride have been isolated from the soil samples collected from the higher altitude (2000-3500 m) of Garhwal Himalayan region in India. The two species were grown in Petri plates on TSM agar media and it was also observed that the optimum temperature and pH for Trichoderma growth was 300 C and 5.5 respectively. When incubated on TSM agar medium at 40 C, the fungus grew normally with heavy induced sporulation within three weeks of incubation. Induction of sporulation on exposure to low temperature appeared to be strategies for survival of these species in extreme cold environment temperature 4 to 50 C. Antifungal activities of the two species of Trichoderma were demonstrated with phytopathogenic fungi in dual cultures. The antifungal metabolites produced by Trichoderma spp., diffusible as well as volatile, caused abnormalities in pathogenic fungi. Plant growth promotion of Trichoderma spp. was also shown through plant analysis in greenhouse.

In-vitro Antifungal activity of Sapium sebiferum L. against Aspergillus niger and Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus.

Plants have provided a source of inspiration for novel drugs compounds, as plant derived medicines have made large contributions to human health and well-being. In present study, the methanolic, ethanolic, chloroformic and petroleum ether extracts of Sapium sebiferum leaves were investigated for their antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus. Results obtained showed that all the extracts reduced colony growth by 1-32%. It was found that among all the leaf extracts, methanolic and ethanolic extracts have maximum percentage growth inhibition (26%) against Aspergillus flavus, while methanolic extracts showed maximum percentage growth inhibition (32%) against Aspergillus niger.

Evaluation of In-vitro antibacterial and anticandidal activity of Sapium sebiferum L.

The Sapium sebiferum leaf extracts were determined for their antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus ,Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Klabsiella oxytoca, Listeria monocytogenes, E.coli, Saccharomyeces cereviceae and Candida albicans. The antimicrobial activities of these strains were compared with standard antibiotics (amoxicillin). Results obtained showed that all the extracts except aqueous (hot and cold) were effective against all the microbial strains. The methanolic extract of Sapium sebiferum leaves was most effective against all the bacterial strains and thus displayed highest zone of 21.0 mm at concentration of 100 mg/ml against Listeria monocytogenes ( MIC value is 25 mg/ml). Salmonella typhi and Klabsiella oxytoca did not show any activity. The anticandidal activity of methanolic, ethanolic and petroleum extracts showed maximum inhibition zone of 24.0 mm (MIC value is 25mg/ml).

Antagonistic and plant growth activity of Trichoderma isolates of Western Himalayas.

The genus Trichoderma is rapidly growing colonies bearing tufted or postulate, repeatedly branched conidiophores with lageniform phialides and hyaline or green conidia born in slimy heads. 62 isolates of Trichoderma species were isolated from different rhizospheric soil samples collected from different places located in Western Himalayas region. Out of these only two species were found i.e. Trichoderma hazianum and Trichoderma viride. Their efficacy against soil borne plant pathogens like Sclerotium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum revealed that only three isolates amounting to 5% of the total collected isolates of this region were found highly antagonist. Among them 5% isolates were found against S. rolfsii, 13% isolates against R. solani, 10% against sclerotium caused above 80% inhibition of mycelial growth respectively. 6% isolates out of twenty seven utilized chitin by more than 80 and 16% isolates consumed cellulose by above 80% and therefore are producers of chitinase and cellulases. 58% isolates produced colonies having cottony texture and 41% produced dark green colonies. Pigmentation as observed from reverse side of the colony revealed that 70% of them did not produced pigment in the medium. Plant growth promotion measured as root and shoot lengths were significantly higher than in control. The maximum root length and shoot length were recorded when seeds were treated with isolates were recorded at Srinagar Garhwal was 4.70 and 4.75 cm out of all the isolates in which isolate recorded from Srinagar no 3 caused maximum percent seed germination which was significantly higher 79.49%.

Effect of fenfluramine on serum T3, T4 and TSH levels in obesity.

A prospective, randomised case-control trial of an anorectic drug, fenfluramine was conducted on 30 patients of simple obesity. The study revealed that the drug was well tolerated, non-toxic and effective in reducing the body weight and normalising the thyroid profile. Reduction in body weight, rise in serum thyroxine (T4) and fall in serum triiodothyronine (T3) was highly significant (p less than 0.01) in drug treated group as compared to controls (p less than 0.05) after 12 weeks of therapy. There was also fall in serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels but without any statistical significance.

Giant cranial intradiploic epidermoid cyst

A case of giant cranial intradiploic rpifrtmoif cyst in a 53-year-old man is reported. These cysts are uncommon and very rarely attain giant sixe