Antifungal activity of probiotic strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum MYSN7 against Trichophyton tonsurans.

The primary objective of this study was to assess the probiotic attributes and antifungal activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) against the fungus, Trichophyton tonsurans. Among the 20 isolates screened for their antifungal attributes, isolate MYSN7 showed strong antifungal activity and was selected for further analysis. The isolate MYSN7 exhibited potential probiotic characteristics, having 75 and 70% survival percentages in pH3 and pH2, respectively, 68.73% tolerance to bile, a moderate cell surface hydrophobicity of 48.87%, and an auto-aggregation percentage of 80.62%. The cell-free supernatant (CFS) of MYSN7 also showed effective antibacterial activity against common pathogens. Furthermore, the isolate MYSN7 was identified as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum by 16S rRNA sequencing. Both L. plantarum MYSN7 and its CFS exhibited significant anti-Trichophyton activity in which the biomass of the fungal pathogen was negligible after 14 days of incubation with the active cells of probiotic culture (106 CFU/ml) and at 6% concentration of the CFS. In addition, the CFS inhibited the germination of conidia even after 72 h of incubation. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the lyophilized crude extract of the CFS was observed to be 8 mg/ml. Preliminary characterization of the CFS showed that the active component would be organic acids in nature responsible for antifungal activity. Organic acid profiling of the CFS using LC-MS revealed that it was a mixture of 11 different acids, and among these, succinic acid (9,793.60 µg/ml) and lactic acid (2,077.86 µg/ml) were predominant. Additionally, a scanning electron microscopic study revealed that CFS disrupted fungal hyphal structure significantly, which showed scanty branching and bulged terminus. The study indicates the potential of L. plantarum MYSN7 and its CFS to control the growth of T. tonsurans. Furthermore, in vivo studies need to be conducted to explore its possible applications on skin infections.

Probiotics and their postbiotics for the control of opportunistic fungal pathogens: A review.

During past twenty years the opportunistic fungal infections have been emerging, causing morbidity and mortality. The fungi belonging to Aspergillus, Mucor, Rhizopus, Candida, Fusarium, Penicillium, Dermatophytes and others cause severe opportunistic fungal infections. Among these Aspergillus and Candida spp cause majority of the diseases. The continuum of fungal infections will prolong to progress in the surroundings of the growing inhabitants of immunocompromised individuals. Presently many chemical-based drugs were used as prophylactic and therapeutic agents. Prolonged usage of antibiotics may lead to some severe effect on the human health. Also, one of the major threats is that the fungal pathogens are becoming the drug resistant. There are many physical, chemical, and mechanical methods to prevent the contamination or to control the disease. Owing to the limitations that are observed in such methods, biological methods are gaining more interest because of the use of natural products which have comparatively less side effects and environment friendly. In recent years, research on the possible use of natural products such as probiotics for clinical use is gaining importance. Probiotics, one of the well studied biological products, are safe upon consumption and are explored to treat various fungal infections. The antifungal potency of major groups of probiotic cultures such as Lactobacillus spp, Leuconostoc spp, Saccharomyces etc. and their metabolic byproducts which act as postbiotics like organic acids, short chain fatty acids, bacteriocin like metabolites, Hydrogen peroxide, cyclic dipeptides etc. to inhibit these opportunistic fungal pathogens have been discussed here.

Modulatory effects of morin on hyperglycemia by attenuating the hepatic key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism and ß-cell function in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of morin on blood glucose, insulin level, hepatic glucose regulating enzyme activities and glycogen level in experimental diabetes. Diabetes mellitus was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (50 mg/kg b.w.). Five days after STZ injection, diabetic rats received morin (25 and 50 mg/kg b.w.) orally for 30 days. Glibenclamide was used as reference drug. Morin treatment significantly reduced the blood glucose and improved the serum insulin levels. Further, a dose-dependent reduction in glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was observed along with the increase in liver hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities. Morin supplement were found to be effective in preserving the normal histological appearance of pancreatic islets as well as to preserve insulin-positive ß-cells in STZ-rats. Therefore, these findings suggest that morin displays beneficial effects in the treatment of diabetes, mediated through the regulation of carbohydrate metabolic enzyme activities.

Protective effect of gallic acid on alloxan-induced oxidative stress and osmotic fragility in rats.

In the present study, we investigated the antioxidant effect of gallic acid (GA) on membrane lipid peroxidation and osmotic fragility in alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats. GA was administered orally at doses of 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg body weight for 45 days, after which liver and kidney tissues were analyzed for the degree of lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione, and the activities of antioxidants such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase. Administration of GA to alloxan-induced diabetic rats reduced the blood glucose level with an increase in the level of insulin. Liver and kidney tissues from diabetic animals exhibited disturbances in antioxidant defense compared with normal rats. GA at a dose of 20 mg/kg b.w. showed a significant effect than that of the other doses. In addition, the results revealed that GA protected the integrity of erythrocyte membrane in diabetic rats as demonstrated by lower percentage of hemolysis and resistance to hydrogen peroxide-induced peroxidation. The anti-hyperglycemic activity of GA in alloxan-induced diabetic rats was also comparable with glibenclamide, a reference drug. These results suggest that GA could provide a beneficial effect on diabetes by decreasing oxidative stress-related diabetic complications.

Antioxidant properties and stability of aegle marmelos leaves extracts.

Aegle marmelos (AM) leaves were extracted with methanol (ME), ethanol (EE), water (WE) and analyzed for antioxidant activities by DPPH radical scavenging method, reducing power and in vitro inhibition by Fenton's reagent-induced oxidation of lipid system. Stability of extracts to pH (4, 7 and 9) and temperature (100 °C, 15 min.) was studied. The three extracts showed varying degree of efficacy in each assay in a dose dependent manner. The inhibition of MDA formation in Linseed oil by EE (47%) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than WE (28%) and ME (23%) but less than α- Tocopherol (80%). WE showed maximum stability to high temperature. The antioxidant activity of EE at pH 4 was significantly higher (P < 0.05) compared with WE and ME. At pH 7, the antioxidant activity of all the three extracts remained unchanged. Data indicates that potential exists for the utilization of Aegle marmelos as a natural antioxidant.

Growth of nanocrystals and thin films at the water-oil interface.

The use of the water-oil interface provides significant advantages in the synthesis of inorganic nanostructures. Employing the water-toluene interface, luminescent CdS nanocrystals have been obtained at a relatively modest temperature of 35 degrees C. The diameters of the particulates can be varied between 1.0 and 5.0 nm. In addition, we have devised a new method for transferring thin films at the water-toluene interface onto solid substrates. Using this method, thin films consisting of Au and Ag nanocrystals spread over very large areas (square centimetres) are obtained in a single step. These films are directly usable as ingredients of functional devices. We show this by constructing a working amine sensor based on films of Au nanocrystals. The materials obtained have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, absorption and emission spectroscopy and charge transport measurements.

Phase control in the synthesis of magnetic iron sulfide nanocrystals from a cubane-type Fe-S cluster.

Phase control has been achieved in the synthesis of magnetic iron sulfide nanocrystals by the use of a single source precursor, a cubane type Fe-S cluster, bis(tetra-n-butylammonium) tetrakis[benezenethiolato-mu3-sulfido-iron]. This cluster cleanly decomposes in alkylamines to yield nanocrystals whose composition, structure, and dimensions are dependent on the temperature employed. At low temperatures, pyrrhotite type Fe7S8 nanocrystals with an average diameter of 5.6 nm are obtained. Higher temperatures yield griegite-Fe3S4 nanocrystals whose dimensions are tunable in the range 2.5-4.5 nm. All the obtained nanocrystals are superparamagnetic at room temperature.

Perpendicular magnetization in self-assembled films of citrate-capped gamma-Fe2O3 nanocrystals on Si(100) surfaces.

gamma-Fe2O3 nanocrystals capped with citrate and octylamine have been chemically prepared. The octylamine-capped nanocrystals exhibit a tendency to form ordered lattices. Films of nanocrystals of varying thickness (454, 720, and 1400 microg/cm2 in the case of citrate-capped nanocrystals and 300 microg/cm2 in the case of octylamine-capped nanocrystals) have been prepared on Si(100) substrates by drop casting and have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Magnetic measurements have been carried out on the films as well as on nanocrystal powders. The films of citrate-capped gamma-Fe2O3 nanocrystals exhibit enhanced perpendicular magnetization, with the anisotropy depending on the film thickness.

Phase separation in metal oxides.

A fascinating phenomenon, recently found to occur in certain transition-metal oxides, is phase separation wherein pure, nominally monophasic oxides of transition metals with well-defined compositions separate into two or more phases over a specific temperature range. Such phase separation is entirely reversible, and is generally the result of a competition between charge-localization and -delocalization, the two situations being associated with contrasting electronic and magnetic properties. Coexistence of more than one phase, therefore, gives rise to electronic inhomogeneity and a diverse variety of magnetic, transport, and other properties, not normally expected of the nominal monophasic composition. An interesting feature of phase separation is that it covers a wide range of length scales anywhere between 1-200 nm. While cuprates and manganates, especially the latter, provide excellent examples of phase separation, it is possible that many other transition-metal compounds with extended structures will be found to exhibit phase separation.