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Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that exert beneficial health effects on the host. These bacteria produce lactic acid as a product of fermentation. The aim of this study was to optimize growth and production of lactic acid by three strains of probiotic bacteria at different concentrations of sucrose, glucose, stevia leaf and stevioside. These three strains were Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus plantarum. Lactic acid production and bacterial growth were, respectively, estimated by use of gas chromatography and colony-forming units (CFU) assay. The highest bacterial growth and lactic acid production in these three strains were obtained by high concentration of sucrose. Among these three bacteria, Lact. casei and Lact. brevis can produce more lactic acid compared to Lact. plantarum. All strains could produce lactic acid in the presence of sucrose, glucose and stevia leaf extract in a dose dependent manner. The effect of stevioside on lactic acid production in these strains at high and low concentrations was almost same. In conclusion, data indicate that sucrose is the best carbon source for lactic acid production and bacterial growth. Stevioside and stevia leaf also have a good potential to increase lactic acid production in these three strains.

Background The Candida species are the most important factors of fungal infections in humans and animals. It is necessary to prepare antifungal or antimicrobial drugs because of increasing drug resistance. The natural treatment of diseases of bacterial origin using medicinal plants is important. In this study the effect of antimicrobial medicinal herbal essential oils and conventional antifungal drugs were evaluated on Candida albicans in vitro . Methods Disc diffusion assay and the microbroth dilution method were used to investigate the anticandidal effects of Foeniculum vulgare Mill, Satureja hortensis L, Cuminum cyminum , and Zataria multiflora Boiss essential oils. The anticandidal effect of these essential oils was compared with that of amphotricin B and ketoconazole in vitro. We then measured the chemical composition of the studied essential oils using gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy. Results Z. multiflora Boiss essential oil at the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 34μg/mL and minimal lethal concentration [i.e., minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC)] of 64μg/mL had more powerful anti- Candida activity than the other essential oils. C. cyminum essential oil showed the least effect on the tested fungus. A comparison of the effect of the studied essential oils and antifungal drugs showed that the antifungal effect on the C. albicans fungus was better with the fungicides than with the essential oils. Conclusion In the present study, essential oils with different components showed antifungal activity (especially Z. multiflora Boiss essential oil). They can therefore be used as new antifungal substances.

© 2017 American Chemical Society. This study is an attempt to make a step forward to implement the very immature concept of pumpless transportation of liquid into a real miniaturized device or lab-on-chip (LOC) on a plastic substrate. "Inert" plastic materials such as polypropylene (PP) are used in a variety of biomedical applications but their surface engineering is very challenging. Here, it was demonstrated that with a facile innovative wettability patterning route using fluorosilanized UV-independent TiO2 nanoparticle coating it is possible to create wedge-shaped open microfluidic tracks on inert solid surfaces for low-cost biomedical devices (lab-on-plastic). For the future miniaturization and integration of the tracks into a device, a variety of characterization techniques were used to not only systematically study the surface patterning chemistry and topography but also to have a clear knowledge of its biological interactions and performance. The effect of such surface architecture on the biological performance was studied in terms of static/dynamic protein (bovine serum albumin) adsorption, bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis) adhesion, cell viability (using HeLa and MCF-7 cancer cell lines as well as noncancerous human fibroblast cells), and cell patterning (Murine embryonic fibroblasts). Strategies are discussed for incorporating such a confined track into a diagnostic device in which its sensing portion is based on protein, microorganism, or cells. Finally, for the proof-of-principle of biosensing application, the well-known high-affinity molecular couple of BSA-antiBSA as a biological model was employed.

Objective(s) In this study we investigated the expression of GABAA receptor subunits during brain development. These receptors may change in the embryonic chick forebrain. Materials and Methodes The expression levels of four types of GABAA receptor gamma subunits (γ1, γ2, γ3 and γ4) were quantified in the embryonic chick forebrain at 32 hr, 3, 7, 14, and 20 days of incubation and day one after hatching. The expression level of mRNA in the forebrain of embryonic chicken was measured using real-time RT-PCR. Results The expression level of each subunit increased gradually with development and reached a plateau on 20th day of embryonic development. A reduction was observed on day one after hatching in all gamma subunits. Conclusion This may explain the different physiological and pharmacological function of GABA receptor gamma subunits before and after hatching.