Based on epidemiological studies, Aspergillus candidus has been demonstrated as an emerging fungal agent of toenail onychomycosis. Here we report a case of a toenail infection caused by A. candidus in a healthy 60-year-old woman. Based on macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the culture as well as nucleotide sequencing of 28S region, the causative agent was identified as A. candidus.

Recent investigations revealed the effects of herbal extracts on both fungal growth as well as aflatoxins production. In the present study, we tried to evaluate antifungal activity as well as antitoxin activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) extract. Strain American Type Culture Collection 15517 of Aspergillus parasiticus was used to perform antifungal susceptibility test according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute document M27-A3, and the rate of aflatoxin production was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography technique after exposure to different concentrations of licorice extract. Quantitative changes in the expression of the aflR gene were analyzed by measuring the cognate aflR mRNA level with quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. Our obtained results demonstrated the inhibitory effect of licorice extract on Aspergillus parasiticus growth at 500 mg/mL of licorice extract. In addition, a significant decrease in aflatoxin production was revealed at the same concentration. However, the production of aflatoxin B1 was entirely inhibited in 10 g/mL of licorice extract. The level of aflR gene expression was significantly decreased after the exposure of fungal cells to 500 g/mL of licorice extract. Evaluation of the antifungal and antitoxin activity of licorice extract on Aspergillus parasiticus revealed its antifungal properties as well as its effective ability to decrease aflatoxin production.

Recent studies indicated the inhibitory effects of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from different origins on both fungal growth and aflatoxin production. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of Lactobacillus plantarum and L. delbrueckii subsp. Lactis on Aspergillus parasiticus ATCC15517 growth. Quantification of aflatoxin was performed using high‐performance liquid chromatography technique. Quantitative changes in the expression of the aflR gene were analyzed by measuring the cognate aflR mRNA level with quantitative real‐time reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction. Our results demonstrated the inhibitory effect of LAB on A. parasiticus growth at 2 × 103 cfu/ml of L. plantarum and L. delbrueckii subsp. Lactis. Aflatoxin G2 production was significantly inhibited to lower than level of detection. The level of aflR gene expression was considerably decreased after the exposure of fungal cells with used LABs. Assessment of the used LABs on A. parasiticus revealed antifungal properties and effective ability to decrease aflatoxin production. Practical applications Fungi spoilage is widespread among different types of food that may result in huge amounts of waste and economical lost. In addition, side effects raised by using chemical additives as preservative, are a serious source of health concern. Therefore, natural agents such as lactic acid bacteria which are also commonly used as probiotics in recent years, could play a good role as inhibitors of fungal growth as well as mycotoxin production both in food and feed. Different media like dairy foods and so on, can be formulated with Lactobacillus plantarum and L. delbrueckii subsp. Lactis, to prevent Aspergillus parasiticus growth and mycotoxin excretion. LAB can be added to processed food during inoculation step and even for protection, they can be capsulated with edible materials to improve their efficiency.

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Aflatoxin M1 is a derivate of aflatoxin B1 and an important contaminant of milk and dairy products. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted on relevant Persian and English original articles in national and international databases with no time limits until 1 January 2018. In total 605 articles were found among which 70 articles met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. The prevalence (95% confidence interval (CI)) and mean concentration (95% CI) of aflatoxin M1 was found to be 64% (53-75%) and 39.7 ng/l (31.9-47.4 ng/l) in raw milk, 95% (89-98%) and 62.3 ng/l (40.6-84 ng/l) in pasteurised milk, 71% (56-84%) and 60.1 ng/l (30.9-89.3 ng/l) in sterilised milk, 59% (20-93%) and 5.5 ng/l (3.3-7.7 ng/l) in breast milk and 72% (61-81%) and 82.3 ng/kg (63.7-100.9 ng/kg) in dairy products. In general, 9% (4-16%) of milks and 10% (4-17%) of dairy products had aflatoxin M1 in concentrations exceeding the permitted level of Iranian standards (500 ng/l). Based on the maximum permitted aflatoxin M1 concentration in standards of Europe (50 ng/l), these percentages increase to 25% (18-32%) for milks and 18% (9-29%) for dairy products. According to the results, further control and preventive measures should be applied on livestock feeds because decreased aflatoxin B1 contamination at this level results in decreased aflatoxin M1 in milk and dairy products.

Background:Candida parapsilosis is one of the five common strains of yeasts involved in invasive candidiasis. The expression analysis of sterol biosynthesis pathway genes, which are associated with resistance, can assist the better understanding of antifungal resistance mechanisms.Methods:The antifungal susceptibility of 120 clinical C. parapsilosis isolates was examined. The changes in the gene expression related to resistance were analyzed.Results:Eight strains were resistant to fluconazole (FLC), itraconazole (ITC), and amphotericin B (AMB). The regulation variations included increased mRNA levels of ERG3, ERG6, and ERG11 and decreased mRNA levels of ERG3 and ERG6 in response to FLC. ERG11 mRNA level increases in response to ITC and AMB.Conclusion:The mechanism of resistance to azoles in C. parapsilosis is very similar to C. Albicans. This feature may help to design new treatment strategy for candidiasis

Aspergillus parasiticus is one of the most common fungi able to produce aflatoxins, which are naturally occurring carcinogenic substances. This study evaluated the effects of the safe yeast, Kluyveromyces lactis, on fungal growth, aflatoxin production and expression of aflR gene in A. parasiticus. Antifungal susceptibility was evaluated by exposing A. parasiticus to different amounts of K. lactis, and aflatoxin production was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Expression of the aflR gene was determined by measuring the cognate aflR mRNA level by quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. The growth of A. parasiticus was inhibited by 7 days of incubation at 30°C with a minimum population of 1.5 × 105 CFU/ml of K. lactis, which also suppressed expression of the A. parasiticus aflR gene, reducing the total production of aflatoxins by 97.9% and aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 by 97.8, 98.6, 98 and 94%, respectively. Accordingly, K. lactis could be considered as a potential biocontrol agent against toxigenic molds in food and animal feed.

Background:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic liver disease, with around 130 million infected people worldwide. HCV is recognized by Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which are key mediators of innate immune response. Up on activation of TLRs, anti-viral cytokines and pre-inflammatory are produced.Objectives:In this study, we compared the expression levels of two members of the TLR family (TLR3 and TLR7) that recognize viral RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) of patients with chronic HCV infection and healthy controls.Patients and Methods:In this case-control study, blood samples were collected from patients admitted to Blood Transfusion Research Center, Tehran, Iran. PBMC was isolated from blood of chronic HCV patients (n = 25) and age and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 25). RNA was extracted from PBMC and cDNA was synthesized from total RNA templates using reverse transcriptase. The relative level of expression was quantified by real-time PCR using Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) as reference gene and the results were compared by Pfaffl method. Data were analyzed using non-parametric Wilcoxon test. P < 0.05 was considered significant.Results:In both groups, we had 13 males and 12 females with a mean age of 48.7 ± 16. TLR3 (6.23 ± 0.91 vs. 3.89 ± 0.85, P < 0.001) and TLR7 (1.48 ± 0.82 vs-1.33 ± 1.18, P < 0.001) expressions were significantly lower in patients with chronic HCV infection when compared with healthy controls.Conclusions:This study suggests that decrease in levels of TLR3 and TLR7 expression is a mechanism that may enable HCV to evade the host innate immune response.