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BACKGROUND: Several foodborne outbreaks associated with the consumption of vegetables have been reported which involved Vibrio spp. as causative agents. Conventional methods of detecting these microorganisms are time-consuming. Therefore, the development of techniques for rapid detection seems to be of paramount importance. OBJECTIVES: The present study recommends a rapid and reliable method for the detection of Vibrio cholera (V. cholera), V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, and V. alginolyticus. Moreover, the results are compared with the conventional plate culture method. METHODS: The conventional bacteriological tests were conducted to detect Vibrio spp. in vegetables and their surrounding water. The samples were also subjected to a newly developed multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using five specific genes, including VC-Rmm of V. cholerae, VP-MmR of V. parahaemolyticus, VV-Rmm of V. vulnificus, V.al2-MmR of V. alginolyticus, and VM-F for all the four isolates. RESULTS: The presence of V. alginolyticus and V. vulnificus was confirmed by amplifying the specific regions of 412 bp for V. vulnificus and 144 bp for V. alginolyticus. The results demonstrated that V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus were not detected in multiplex PCR, which was consistent with the findings of conventional plating methods. CONCLUSIONS: Obtained results revealed that the designed multiplex PCR assay is a reliable, rapid, and cost-effective method for the simultaneous detection of Vibrio spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of organic micropollutant transfers in barrier seal materials from waste storage facilities is limited to volatile organic compounds and phenolic compounds at ambient temperature. This study focused on the sorption of chlorophenols (CPs) from various geotextiles from clay geosynthetics under the influence of temperature. Also to study the impact of the polarity or the amount of CPs adsorbed on geotextiles with the partition coefficient. The effect of various parameters such as contact time, effect of temperature, initial CPs concentration and adsorbent dosage has been carried out in this study. The result obtained is non-linear and the data was calculated for affinity with Freundlich isotherm model. An important observation is that the amount of CPs sorbed on geotextiles increases with a growing number of chlorine atoms, ie increases with the partition coefficient (log Kow). During this study, a decrease in adsorbent properties was observed with the rise in temperature from 23°C to 55°C. The partitioning coefficients for CPs examined range are from 2.4 (R² = 0.86) to 8.4 mL/g (R² = 0.90). Among the CPs studied, the highest adsorbed quantity was observed for pentachlorophenol with 0.052 g/g at 23°C, this quantity will decrease with the increase in temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sol-gel and melt-mixing processes, which are used for the synthesis of low-density polyethylene/silver/titanium dioxide nanocomposites, can inactivate pathogens. In the sol-gel method, the nanocomposites were used to treat four selected microorganisms using the disk-diffusion method. In the melt-mixing method, fish coverage films were used to examine the shelf life of fish. TiO2 along with different concentrations of Ag (0%, 1%, 3%, and 5%) generated the nanocomposites. The maximum inhibition zone diameters (mm) for Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger in 3% Ag were measured. It was concluded that applying the LDPE/Ag/TiO2 nanocomposites produced could be beneficial for inactivation of pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Scorpion envenomation is considered as one of the Public Health problems in some countries in the world including Iran. Annually, approximately 30,000 scorpion stings happen in Iran from which 12% belongs to Hemiscorpius lepturus (special small closely spaced, bead-shaped jointed tail, similar in the shape to a cows tail, and is locally called "gaodim" (Gao, cow; dim, tail)) with 95% mortality. The main treatment is antiserum therapy which is produced in horse and is the only way to neutralize the venom. Due to the anaphylactic shock of the horse antiserum in some of the stung patients other source of antiserum is recommended. In this study the ability of produced camel antiserum in neutralizing the scorpion venom of Hemiscorpius lepturus was performed in Balb/c model. Methods: Camel is an animal model that genetically is compatible with human genome utilized in this research to produce antiserum against scorpion venom. Two camels were used for immunization with the venom of Hemiscorpius lepturus. ELISA method was used to confirm the immunity. Antiserum was produced and used for neutralizing test. The precipitated antiserum with saturated ammonium sulfate (SAS) was also used to perform the neutralizing test in mice. Results: The results indicated that the amount of 200 μl of antiserum and 400 μl of SAS antiserum were able to neutralize the amount of 1 LD100 of the venom and the survived the mice from death. Conclusion: The result indicated that camel antiserum against scorpion venom is capable to neutralize the crude venom in mice model. Due to the safety of camel serum in human, it is suggested that the produced antiserum in camel can be substitute with the traditional horse antiserum in scorpion stung patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optically active N-heterocycles with four-, five-, or six-membered rings can be prepared from unsaturated secondary amines, by using a one-pot hydrozirconation/iodination sequence as the key step. The presented method allows the preparation of 2-substituted pyrrolidines enantiomeric to those previously obtained from N-allyloxazolidines. The two approaches use the same reagents (allyl bromide and aldehydes) and the same ( R)-2-phenyl?glycinol as the chiral inductor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Medicinal plants have long played an integral role in traditional healing systems and are crucial for meeting primary healthcare needs. This study aimed to investigate the use of medicinal plants in phytotherapy in the Ketama region of Northern Morocco. Methods. Ethnobotanical data and ancestral knowledge regarding plants were collected through a field survey conducted from August 2019 to July 2021. The data were gathered using a standardized questionnaire, as well as through semistructured interviews and focus groups. Various ethnobotanical indices were applied to analyse the information collected. Results. A comprehensive inventory identified a total of 81 plant species, belonging to 40 families and 65 genera. These species are used primarily to treat a variety of diseases. Notably, digestive disorders ranked first among the diseases treated, with an ICF value of 0.618. Rosmarinus officinalis L., Thymus serpyllum L., and Origanum compactum Benth exhibited the highest UV values among medicinal plants. Leaves were the most used part of the plant part (50.28%), and the decoction method was the most recommended preparation, with oral administration being the preferred mode of application of the remedy. Conclusion. The Ketama region boasts a rich abundance of medicinal and aromatic plants, as evident from the quantitative analysis highlighting the significant usage of Rosmarinus officinalis L., Thymus serpyllum L., and Origanum compactum Benth. by the local population. However, further research in the form of pharmacological studies is necessary to validate their therapeutic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to estimate the effects of chitosan/ corn starch (CH/ CS equal 62:38) film in combination with nettle essential oil nanoemulsions (0.41 wt% NEONEs) and starch nanocrystals (6 wt% SNCs) on the microbial and qualitative characteristics of the Eleutheronema tetradactylum fillets during refrigeration storage (4 ± 1 °C). The fillets were covered by biopolymeric films (CH/CS, CH/CS/SNCs, CH/CS/ NEONEs, CH/CS/SNCs/NEONEs). The qualitative analysis of refrigerated fillets was performed on days 1, 7, and 10. The incorporation of NEONEs and SNCs into CH/CS made an active film with antimicrobial effects. The decrease in pH (5.89 %), PV (44.72 %), FFA (10.41 %), TVB-N (35.01 %), TBA (27.07 %) and increase in moisture (5.38 %) were observed in the covered fillets by CH/CS/SNCs/NEONEs film in compared to uncovered fillets at 4 °C on day 10. The results revealed that incorporating SNCs (6 %) and NEONEs (0.41 %) into CH/CS could increase the storage time of the refrigerated fish fillets., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: The occurrence of aflatoxins in food products is a silent threat to human health worldwide. A range of strategies has been introduced to address the bioavailability of aflatoxins, which are considered microbial tools to provide a low-cost and promising approach., Objectives: The present study focused on the separation of yeast strains from the homemade cheese rind layer to investigate the ability of native yeasts to eliminate AB1 and AM1 from simulated gastrointestinal fluids., Material and Methods: Homemade cheese samples were prepared from different locations in Tehran provinces and yeast strains were isolated and identified through the biochemical methods and molecular analysis of internal transcribed spacer and D1/D2 domain of 26S rDNA regions. Isolated strains were screened using simulated gastrointestinal fluids, and the ability of yeast strains to absorb aflatoxin was evaluated., Results: Out of 13 strains, 7 yeast strains were not affected by 5 ppm AFM1 while 11 strains did not show any significant response to 5 mg.L -1 (ppm) of AFB1. On the other hand, 5 strains were able to successfully tolerate 20 ppm AFB1. Candidate yeasts showed different abilities to remove aflatoxins B1 and M1. In addition, C. lusitaniae , G. geotrichum , G. candidum , and C. sanyaensis exhibited a significant ability to detoxify aflatoxins from the gastrointestinal fluid, respectively., Conclusion: Our data suggest that yeast communities with essential effects on the quality of homemade cheese appear to be precise candidates for the potential elimination of aflatoxins from the gastrointestinal fluid., (Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s); Published by Iranian Journal of Biotechnology.)

Different biological methods based on bioactivity are available to detect cyanotoxins, including neurotoxicity, immunological interactions, hepatotoxicity, cytotoxicity, and enzymatic activity. The mouse bioassay is the first test employed in laboratory cultures, cell extracts, and water bloom materials to detect toxins. It is also used as a traditional method to estimate the LD50. Concerning the ease of access and low cost, it is the most common method for this purpose. In this method, a sample is injected intraperitoneally into adult mice, and accordingly, they are assayed and monitored for about 24 hours for toxic symptoms. The toxin can be detected using this method from minutes to a few hours; its type, e.g., hepatotoxin, neurotoxin, etc., can also be determined. However, this method is nonspecific, fails to detect low amounts, and cannot distinguish between homologues. Although the mouse bioassay is gradually replaced with new chemical and immunological methods, it is still the main technique to detect the bioactivity and efficacy of cyanotoxins using LD50 determined based on the survival time of animals exposed to the toxin. In addition, some countries oppose animal use in toxicity studies. However, high cost, ethical considerations, low-sensitivity, non-specificity, and prolonged processes persuade researchers to employ chemical and functional analysis techniques. The qualitative and quantitative analyses, as well as high specificity and sensitivity, are among the advantages of cytotoxicity tests to investigate cyanotoxins. The present study aimed at reviewing the results obtained from in vitro and in vivo investigations of the mouse bioassay to detect cyanotoxins, including microcystins, cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxins, etc., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Background: Glucose oxidase is an oxidoreductase that depletes oxygen in food processing and is used in biosensors, glucose diagnostic kits, food processing, cosmetics, and chemical industries. This enzyme is often isolated from fungi, such as Penicillium and Aspergillus Niger ., Objectives: The objective of this study was to clone and express a full-length GOX gene from soil thermophilic streptomyces for bioinformatic and enzyme activity evaluations., Materials and Methods: After collecting samples from the Gandom Beryan area of Kerman province, Iran, Streptomyces strains were identified with specific biochemical and molecular tests. Streptomyces strains with glucose oxidase gene were detected by PCR, and the amplified gene fragment was cloned into Escherichia coli host bacterium using TA cloning technique. The expression of the cloned GOX gene in the host bacterium was measured using real-time PCR, and the recombinant plasmids were sequenced. The enzymatic activity was measured in the extracts of E. coli cells carrying the plasmids., Results: After screening the samples, 12 strains of Streptomyces were identified, 4 of which carried the GOX gene. The GOX open reading frame, obtained by PCR, was cloned into a vector and transformed into Escherichia coli origami to generate GOX-producing bacteria. Enzyme activity was confirmed and a phylogenetic tree showed the degree of kinship between Streptomyces species and other species, including Streptomyces SP MI02-7b. The expression levels of GOX genes mRNA were found to be approximately 4-fold higher in transformed E. coli than in soil thermophilic Streptomyces (P <0.001)., Conclusion: This study showed that natural thermostable streptomyces producing glucose oxidase enzyme could be found in Iran. The enzyme gene was successfully transformed into Escherichia coli generating a recombinant host with high yield capability that can be a major step towards the production of this enzyme from indigenous strains. It should be emphasized that the GOX enzyme produced by these strains is profitable due to high production levels correlated to the optimum condition in cheap culture media, short fermentation cycles, high expression capability, and ease of growth., (Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s); Published by Iranian Journal of Biotechnology.)