Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis in herpes simplex virus keratitis with and without epithelial involvement.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis in herpes simplex virus (HSV) keratitis with and without epithelial involvement. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 70 patients with different HSV types and an active ocular lesion in Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran. From these 70 patients, 171 samples were collected, including seventy tear samples and 33 scraping samples from involved eyes; and 68 samples from uninvolved fellow eyes. Samples were frozen at - 70 °C until DNA extraction was performed. Quantity of HSV was measured using qRT-PCR in all three samples. RESULTS: The mean age of HSV patients was 52.19 ± 20.42 years (range, 4-85 years). Forty-one (58.6%) HSV patients had epithelial involvement, and 29 (41.4%) patients did not have epithelial involvement. In PCR-positive cases, the mean number of viruses in affected eyes' tears (8,831,234 ± 4,051,979) was significantly higher than uninvolved eyes' tears (182,603 ± 69,141) (P = 0.02). The mean of PCR in HSV patients with and without epithelial involvement was 10,320,269 ± 5,329,800 and 1,469,419 ± 1,070,396, respectively (P = 0.04). The qRT-PCR of involved tears in both groups (with and without epithelial involvement) was significantly higher than unaffected eyes' tears (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.01, respectively). In cases with and without epithelial involvement, the cutoff points of viral load in involved eyes' tears were 281,000 and 126,000 copies, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that qRT-PCR is an excellent method for the detection of herpes simplex keratitis.

Concentrated O/W emulsions formulated by binary and ternary mixtures of sodium caseinate, xanthan and guar gums: rheological properties, microstructure, and stability.

The effects of xanthan gum (XG) (0, 0.3, 0.6 wt%), guar gum (GG) (0, 0.3, 0.6 wt%) and XG:GG mixtures (0.3-0.3, 0.3-0.6, 0.6-0.3 and 0.6-0.6 wt%) on the physical stability of sodium caseinate (CN) stabilized concentrated O/W emulsions (φoil = 0.6) were examined. The emulsion stability, microstructure, droplets size distribution, and rheological properties were evaluated. The findings showed that with increasing total gum concentration up to 0.6% droplets size and emulsion instability significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The emulsion containing a ternary mixture of CN:XG:GG at total gum concentration (0.6%) with a mixing ratio of 0.3:0.3 XG:GG exhibited the best stability with the highest ESI value (98.3%). Above the critical concentration, an excessive increase in storage modulus led to a significant increase in droplet size and emulsion instability. In brief, concentrated emulsions stabilized by binary and ternary mixtures (CN/XG/GG) may be applicable in special food like heavy cream and as a template for fabricating oleogels.

Oleogel production based on binary and ternary mixtures of sodium caseinate, xanthan gum, and guar gum: Optimization of hydrocolloids concentration and drying method.

We report the optimization of oleogel formulation based on sodium caseinate (CN, 0-4 g/100 g), xanthan gum (XG, 0-1 g/100 g), guar gum (GG, 0-1 g/100 g), and drying method (freeze and oven drier) using response surface methodology to achieve the desired oil binding capacity, textural, and rheological attributes. All the selected responses were successfully fitted by a quadratic model with determination coefficient values higher than .95 with the exception of firmness values which was fitted by linear model. There were considerable increases in all the responses for the samples containing ternary mixtures of protein-gum (CN:XG:GG) as well as binary mixtures (CN:GG and CN:XG) compared to samples containing protein or gums alone due to the synergistic effect of CN and gums on formation of highly ordered and strong gel network. Regression modeling demonstrated that freeze drying method led to significantly greater structure recovery values than those of oven drying method. The best formulation was the freeze dried oleogel containing 4 g/100 g CN, 0.43 g/100 g XG, and 0.98 g/100 g GG. Results showed that fabrication of oleogels with at least 94.5 g/100 g sunflower oil and characteristics similar to industrial shortening is feasible.

Characterization of sodium caseinate/Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose concentrated emulsions: Effect of mixing ratio, concentration and wax addition.

The effects of mixing ratio (1:1, 2:1 and 4:1 sodium caseinate: Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, CN:HPMC), HPMC concentration (0, 0.6 and 1.2 wt%), CN concentration (0, 1.25 and 2.5) and beeswax addition (3%) on the physical stability of concentrated O/W emulsions (φoil = 0.6) were investigated. The emulsion stability, particle size distribution, microstructure and rheological properties were measured. The results showed that emulsion stability was significantly improved with increasing HPMC concentration (pvalue < 0.05). The samples with the highest and the lowest biopolymers concentration at mixing ratio of 2:1 had the highest and the lowest ESI (98% and 48%), respectively. In addition, the most stable sample had the smallest volume mean diameter and approximately desirable rheological properties. The beeswax addition considerably improved rheological properties whereas increased droplets diameter and emulsion instability. In summary, concentrated emulsions stabilized by caseinate/Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose complex may be useful for application in particular food such as heavy cream, mayonnaise, oleogels and pharmaceutical products.

Effects of tocopherol, rosemary essential oil and Ferulago angulata extract on oxidative stability of mayonnaise during its shelf life: A comparative study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of tocopherol, rosemary essential oil and ferulago on oxidative stability of mayonnaise during storage. Their efficacy was also compared with tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and the control group. During the primary oxidation stage, tocopherol was more efficient than TBHQ, while in the secondary oxidation stage it was the same as other antioxidants. At end of storage, samples with added rosemary essential oil and ferulago extract showed peroxide value (2.29 and 2.80 meq O2/kg oil), anisidine value (11.83 and 12.23), hexanal and heptanal concentration (510.2, 589.9 and 76.6, 75.2 ng/g), respectively, which were meaningfully less than those of the control sample (10.44 meq O2/kg, 18.32, 1339.8 ng/g, and 225.5 ng/g, respectively). Based on the overall results, tocopherol and rosemary essential oil can be recommended as replacement for TBHQ. However, further evaluation needs to be performed on the organoleptic properties of Ferulago extract.

The Anti-Staphylococcus aureus Effect of Combined Echinophora platyloba Essential Oil and Liquid Smoke in Beef.

In the current study, the antibacterial effect of Echinophora platyloba essential oil and common liquid smoke (individually and in combination) against Staphylococcus aureus in beef meat samples is investigated. Using an automated microbiological growth analyser and the turbidimetric technique, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of the essential oil and liquid smoke were determined. Anti-S. aureus activity of essential oil and liquid smoke (individually and in combination) was defined by disk diffusion assay, generation time and cell constituent release. Apart from that, the interactions between these two compounds were measured by the checkerboard assay and by calculating the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) indices. Related MIC values of essential oil and smoke were found to be 7200 and 5500 mg/L, and MBC values were 8500 and 8000 mg/L, respectively. The conducted organoleptic assay showed that the addition of 0.05 g of essential oil and 0.6 g of liquid smoke to 100 g of meat samples did not have adverse effect on the overall acceptance. Weaker antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus was observed when only Echinophora platyloba essential oil was used than when it was used in combination with liquid smoke.

A comparative study on the in vitro antioxidant activity of tocopherol and extracts from rosemary and Ferulago angulata on oil oxidation during deep frying of potato slices.

There is a tendency towards the use of natural antioxidative substances due to toxic effects of synthetic antioxidants. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of tocopherol and extracts from rosemary and ferulago on oxidation in a mixture (1:1, w/w) of sunflower seed oil and palm olein, during deep frying of potato slices. Besides the control groups, tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) served as a standard for comparison. The DPPH radical scavenging activities of extracts followed the order of rosemary10% > rosemary1% > rosemary0.1 % > ferulago 10 % > ferulago 1 % > ferulago 0.1 %. Frying performance of antioxidants were tested with regards to primary (peroxide value (PV)) and secondary (anisidine value (AnV), free fatty acids (FFA), total polar compounds (TPC) and volatile oxidation compounds such as hexanal and heptanal) oxidation products and by sensory evaluation. After frying process, rosemary extract treatment exhibited PV (1.2 meq O2/kg), FFA content (0.124 %), TPC (12.2 %), hexanal concentration (62.4 ng/g) and heptanal concentration (73.8 ng/g), which were significantly equal or sometimes less than those of TBHQ treatment ((1.23 meq O2/kg), (0.123 %), (12.6 %), (64.4 ng/g) and (74.1 ng/g), respectively). Whilst the ferulago extract showed higher PV (2 meq O2/kg) than the control sample, it was efficient in delaying secondary oxidative changes. Tocopherol markedly retarded primary stage but its activity fell down toward secondary oxidation products. The overall results of this research suggest that rosemary extract may be a good natural alternative to TBHQ, but further studies are necessary to investigate the use of ferulago extract.