Mathiskirkegaard9234

Background There is increasing interest to develop antimicrobial aids from alternative sources such as medicinal plants for the treatment of infectious diseases. Neem and clove are known to have antimicrobial properties. Aim The study aimed at detecting the antibacterial and antifungal activity of neem and clove extract against Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans. Materials and Methods Strains of S. mutans and C. albicans and selective media for growing micro-organisms were procured. Antimicrobial activity was assessed using two methods, by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using the broth dilution method and determining the zone of inhibition using well diffusion method on mitis salivarius bacitracin selective for S. mutans and Saboraud's dextrose agar plates for C. albicans. One way ANOVA with post hoc analysis was done to compare the antimicrobial activity of extracts and 0.2% chlorhexidine. Results MIC of neem extract was found to be 4.2 mg/ml and 5.0 mg/ml against S. mutans and C. albicans, respectively. While for cloves, it was 5.5 mg/ml for both. Neem had the highest antibacterial activity with a mean zone of inhibition of 11.4 mm followed by chlorhexidine and cloves whereas antifungal activity was highest for chlorhexidine (14.4 mm) followed by neem and clove. Conclusion The result of the study established that both plant extracts possess antimicrobial activity against common microbes present in the oral cavity. Copyright © 2020 Nigerian Medical Journal.Introduction Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant epithelial neoplasm arising in the nasopharyngeal mucosa that shows light microscopic and/or ultrastructural evidence of squamous differentiation. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) can be used to reliably distinguish undifferentiated NPC from other malignant tumors, and the technique may be a necessary tool toward the arrival of a definitive diagnosis, particularly when dealing with challenging cases. Materials and Methods This was a cross-sectional hospital-based study which was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital. The study involved 120 patients with NPC who were diagnosed on histopathological basis between 2009 and 2013. Results The sensitivity and specificity of hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stain in diagnosing NPC were 99% and 30.4%, respectively. The accuracy of H and E stain to diagnose NPC and lymphoma was 94.2% and 30.4%, respectively. CD45 antibody helped to confirm 16 cases which were diagnosed as NPC on H and E stain to be lymphoma. Further, AE1/AE3 antibody helped to confirm one case who was diagnosed as rhabdomyosarcoma on H and E stain to be NPC. Conclusions The sensitivity and accuracy of H and E stains to diagnose NPC were very high whereas the specificity was very low. A significant proportion of previously diagnosed NPC cases by routine H and E stains were confirmed not to be so by a minimal IHC antibody panel of pan-cytokeratin cocktail (AE1/AE3) and leukocyte common antigen (CD45). This highlights the paramount importance of a minimum IHC panel in assisting to obtain a definitive diagnosis in challenging cases of NPC. Copyright © 2020 Nigerian Medical Journal.Galactan exopolysaccharide (EPS) was extracted from Weissella confusa KR780676 isolated from idli batter. The present study reports the effect of galactan EPS concentration, pH, ionic strength, temperature, salinity, monovalent salts on the emulsion formed with vegetable oils (virgin coconut oil, groundnut oil, olive oil and mustard oil). Emulsion determination test revealed the oil-in-water type of emulsion. Microscopic observation showed the phase of oil droplet distribution of emulsions. Groundnut and olive oil showed significant emulsifying activity (50-60%) and stability (90%) irrespective of the EPS concentration. One percent of EPS also showed good emulsifying activity (50-70%) and stability (100%) with groundnut and olive oil in wide range of temperature (- 20, 4, 30, 40, 50 and 60 °C), pH (3-8), salinity (1, 5, 10, 20 and 30% of NaCl) and monovalent salt (1, 5, 10, 20 and 30% of KCl). Galactan could be used as a prominent emulsifier for applications in the food industry as it possesses significant activity with most of the influential factors in wide range and also obtained from lactic acid bacteria that are regarded as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS). © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2020.The application of high-voltage electrostatic field (HVEF) is a novel method of thawing. To determine if HVEF thawing could lead to sarcoplasmic proteins denaturation, and to provide a theoretical estimation of the structure of the sarcoplasmic proteins, pork tenderloin was thawed by traditional and HVEF methods. The results from protein solubility analysis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimeter showed that HVEF thawing did not result in more protein denaturation than those thawed under air or running water. From the principal component analysis of FTIR raw spectra (1700-1600 cm-1, Amide I region), we observed some separations of samples with different thawing treatments. It was found that the proportions of α-helix (1650-1640 cm-1 spectral bands in the original data) could lead to the differences on the PC2 axis of score plots. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2020.The effect of pectinolytic enzyme preparation (PEP) produced by the fungus Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae-N31 (PEP-N31) on total phenolic content, concentrations of methanol and color of grape juice was studied. CPI-0610 datasheet Positive results were found when PEP-N31 was used to extract phenolic compounds after the grapes had been blanched for 3 min and macerated for 1 h. The resulting juice had better yield, color characteristics and higher phenolic content (1637.21 mg.L-1, as gallic acid equivalent, or GAE) than the conventionally prepared juice (1422.59 mg GAE.L-1), and it was very similar to the juice obtained through the treatment with a commercial enzyme (1682.10 mg GAE.L-1). The concentration of methanol in the juice produced with the PEP-N31 was less than 200 mg.L-1. These results encourage the use of PEP produced by Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae-N31 by the grape-processing industry. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2019.