Antimicrobial activity of Lactobacillus pentosus against the Bacillus cereus and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains.

Food safety is the primary concern of the food industry. The aim of the current research is to study the antimicrobial effects of cell-free supernatant of Lactobacillus pentosus against Bacillus cereus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. B. cereus and K. pneumoniae were isolated from infant formula milk product and meat sample, respectively. Their identification was performed through morphological characterization and biochemical testing. Molecular identification of K. pneumoniae was based on 16s ribotyping. A previously isolated and reported strain of L. pentosus was used for the isolation of CFS (Cellfree supernatants). Antimicrobial activity was studied through agar well diffusion assay. Inhibitory activity was recorded by measuring the zone of inhibition. CFS activity was evaluated for temperature and pH. The antimicrobial activity of CFS of L. pentosus produced at different temperatures and pH was investigated against B. cereus and K. pneumoniae. A clear zone of inhibition was observed against B. cereus while no ZOI was formed against K. pneumoniae. K. pneumoniae was found resistant to the CFS. Crude bacteriocin exhibited heat stability for a temperature of 121°C for 30 minutes and pH range of 3-7. The current study concluded that bacteriocin produced from L. pentosus can be used for the control of B. cereus. Its heat and pH stability allows its potential therapeutic use in the food industry as a food preservative and to control food poisoning cases due to B. cereus. K. pneumoniaeis was found resistant to the isolated bacteriocin, and therefore L. pentosus cannot be used for control against K. pneumoniae.

Plants used against liver disorders by autochthonous practitioners of Multan, Pakistan.

The research work was commenced with an aim to document plant based drug recipes used by autochthonous practitioners against liver diseases in Multan region. The data was collected by interviews and semi-structured questionnaire from 43 traditional herbal practitioners. Recorded data was evaluated using the use value, relative frequency of citation (RFC), family importance value (FIV) and family use value (FUV). Total of 69 plant species belonging to 38 families were reported to be utilized to treat various liver disorders. The most important species regarding their use value were 3.0 for Polygonum bistorta, Citrus limon. It means that highly cited plants are more important in traditional medicines but this does not mean the plants low-citation plants by respondents are less medicinal important. It may be due to unavailability of plants in the area or lack of knowledge. Most of plant parts used were leaves due to ease of collection as compared to underground parts. One the basis family use value Asteraceae as the dominating or prominent family. These plants can be further investigated for allied pharmacological studies that will affect the socio-economical condition of the local community.

Exploring the anticancer activities of novel bioactive compounds derived from endophytic fungi: mechanisms of action, current challenges and future perspectives.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death all around the world. The natural compounds derived from the endophytic flora of fungi are possible solutions to cancer treatment because they are safe for health, cost-effective, biocompatible and have fewer toxicity issues. The active ingredients in endophytic fungi that are responsible for anti-cancer activities are alkaloids, terpenoids, glycosides, saponin, peptides, steroids, phenols, quinones, and flavonoids. This review highlights the anti-cancer activities of entophytic fungus against human papillary thyroid carcinoma (IHH4), human pancreatic (PANC-1), ovarian (OVCAR-3), hepatic (HepG2), lung (A-549), human lymphoma (U937), human skin carcinoma (A431), breast (MCF-7), and Kaposi's sarcoma. The emerging evidence suggested that bioactive compounds isolated from endophytic fungi showed their anti-cancer activities by revealing the disturbance of the microtubule network caused by increased levels of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins that triggers cell cycle arrest at the G2-M phase, by inhibiting the DNA replication via binding with topoisomerase II, by regulating the activity of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and NF-kB, by evaluating the levels of p21, p27, and cyclins B/D1/E that led to cell death by apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. This review will assist readers in better comprehending bioactive chemicals and the beneficial interaction between the fungal endophytes and medicinal plants.

Morphological and Molecular Identification of Paramphistomum epiclitum from Buffaloes in Pakistan.

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the genetic and morphological characters of Paramphistomum epiclitum. For the first time in Pakistan, adult flukes were morphologically characterized and the sequence variation in the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) region, including the first internal transcribed spacers (ITS1) and the 5.8S gene of the Paramphistomum epiclitum were studied. METHODS: Adult amphistomes were examined by light microscopy and sequences of ITS1 and 5.88S rDNA genes were obtained. RESULTS: Twenty adult flukes were measured, 13.17 ± 1.19 mm in length and 5.28 ± 1.34 mm in width. Seventeen adult flukes were sequenced and high sequence variability was observed in 5' end of ITS1 region. The 5.8S and 3' end of ITS1 sequences had 100% identity among the samples. A comparative analysis revealed that different types and numbers of repeats were found within each ITS1 region. The 3' end of ITS1 region from P. epiclitum showed 98% homology with P. cervi from China and formed a subclade with genetic distance of 0.1663. The 5.8S gene showed 100% identity within Paramphistomidae family and formed a sub-clade with P. epiclitum, P. leydeni, P. cervi and Cotylophoron cotylophorum species isolated from China, India and Uruguay. CONCLUSION: This work provides new information on morphological identity and genetics of P. epiclitum from Pakistan.

Services of DNA barcoding in different fields.

DNA barcoding is a new master key for species identification and has greatly accelerated the pace of species discovery. In this novel and cost-effective technique, a short DNA sequence from a standard region of mitochondrial "CO1" gene called "barcode" is used. At present, researchers all over the world are utilizing this powerful tool for investigating biodiversity, differentiating cryptic species, testing food authenticity, identifying parasites, vectors, insect pests, and predators, monitoring of illegal trade of animals and their products, and identifying forensically important insects. In addition, this technique can potentially be used to monitor quality of drinking water, quickly identify the indicator species of lakes, rivers, and streams, identify species with harmful attributes or medicinal properties, monitor smuggling of endangered plants and animals and their products, and disease investigations. Despite non-favorable criticism from a few researchers, DNA barcoding has achieved immense popularity in the scientific community, especially among biologists. The present review provides an overview of DNA barcoding and its practical applications. The limitation, future prospective and main informative platforms for DNA barcoding have also been discussed.