No abstract

Several amphiphilic, chalcogen-based redox modulators have been synthesized which exhibit a widespread, yet in some instances also selective, biological activity which is most likely based on their ability to modulate the intracellular redox balance and to interact with cellular membranes and specific proteins.

More than 30 lactic acid bacteria strains were isolated from different sources (matsuns, cheeses)

BackgroundHuman and animal skin diseases of bacterial, fungal and viral nature and their complications are widespread and globally cause a serious trouble. Their prevalence is increasing mainly due to drug resistance. Consequently, demand has increased for new effective antimicrobial drugs, which also should be less toxic, possess a wider spectrum of action and be economically more beneficial. The goal was to investigate antibacterial, antifungal and anti-phage activity of Petamcin-A-a new multicomponent preparation. It contains acetic acid and hexamethylenetetramine as main active antimicrobial components, as well as phosphatidylcholine, tocopheryl acetate and glycerol as excipients.MethodsBacteriostatic activity and minimal inhibitory concentrations of the preparation against various test-organisms were determined by agar well diffusion assay. Antifungal activity was tested by agar dilution assay. To explore anti-phage activity double agar overlay plaque assay was used. Nystatin, chlorhexidine and acetic acid were used as control agents for comparative analysis. Statistical analysis was done with GraphPad Prism 5.03 or R 3.1.0 software.ResultsThe results showed a higher activity of Petamcin-A against all bacterial and fungal test strains compared with its components or control agents. The preparation was more effective against tested gram-positive bacteria than gram-negative ones. Petamcin-A expressed bactericidal activity against almost all test strains. In addition, the preparation demonstrated high activity against T4 phage of Escherichia coli C-T4 completely inhibiting its growth. 5-fold diluted Petamcin-A also exhibited considerable activity reducing phage concentration by 2.6 Log10.ConclusionsPetamcin-A has a high antimicrobial activity against all tested strains of bacteria, yeasts and moulds. The preparation also exhibited high anti-phage activity. Moreover, taking into account that Petamcin-A has no observable toxicity on skin and its components are not expensive, it can be advantageous for management of various skin medical conditions.

Background The newly created associations of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Armenian dairy products (yoghurt, sour cream and different varieties of cheese), as well as from the gastrointestinal tract of honeybees were screened according to their antifungal and antibacterial activity. Results LAB strains were mixed at equal proportions (1:1) according to mathematical planning of experiments. Antifungal and antibacterial effects of different combinations (associations) were determined in different media, employing well-diffusion and total diffusion into agar methods. A number of fungal and bacterial test-organisms, including pathogenic ones, were used. Pure LAB strain cultures were used as a control. The antifungal effect of the most active strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus MDC 9661 in the associations with other LAB strains was partly decreased. At the same time, some mixed LAB cultures in DeMan, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) medium demonstrated significant antibacterial activity against wide spectra of test-organisms only in the case of simultaneous cultivation of LAB strains. On the other hand, in the case of different LAB strains cultivated in MRS with 24-h time break between mix formations by different strains, no inhibitory activity was revealed. But the inhibitory effect of many LAB associations against test-organisms was significantly increased in the case of separated cultivation in milk. Conclusion The inhibitory effect of mixed LAB associations showed stronger dependence on the cultivation media and on the duration of cultivation with respect to each other. The co-cultivation of some strains, like L. rhamnosus MDC 9661, could lead to changed antagonistic activity. Consequently, the results are significant for creation and further investigation of LAB associations, as effective probiotics, and for their probable application in the production of antimicrobial preparations.

Different strains of lactobacilli isolated from Armenian dairy products (matsoun, sour cream and different types of cheeses), were studied for antifungal activity. Lactobacillus rhamnosus MDC 9661 strain was shown to have inhibitory activity against Penicillium aurantioviolaceum and Mucor plumbeus growth. Bacterial cell-free supernatant didn’t show antifungal activity. The L. rhamnosus antifungal activity was stable to the wide range of pH from 3 to 10. This activity was high after treatment with both low temperature (− 30 °C) and lysozyme and with ultrasound. However, it was sensitive to high temperature from 45 to 80 °C and proteolytic enzymes. The results suggest the proteinaceous nature of L. rhamnosus antifungal activity associated with bacterial cell wall. L. rhamnosus MDC 9661 could be recommended as a starter for production of dairy products, functional food and preserving strain in food production.

Approximately 25 strains of lactobacilli isolated from different dairy products and fermented vegetables were screened according to their possibility to show the high auto-aggregation and co-aggregation. The strains Lactobacillus helveticus INRA-2010-H11, Lactobacillus rhamnosus INA-5.1, and Lactobacillus acidophilus JM-2012 were determined to have the high auto-aggregation (approximately 73, 46, and 70.5% correspondingly). A high co-aggregation capacity (75.53%) for strains INRA-2010-H11 and JM-2012 was shown. The adhesion degree of INRA-2010-H11 on the surface of buccal epithelial cells was 88.23%. The study of INRA-2010-H11, JM-2012, and both strains' mixture (1:1) adhesion capacity on the surface of epithelial HeLa cells revealed the adhesion of 1.1 × 10, 6.3 × 10, and 2.3 × 10 CFU, respectively, from starter amount of CFU 10 and 10 for both strains. In vivo experiments of LAB adhesion in gastrointestinal tract of mouse revealed the presence of 2.5 × 10, 1.2 × 10, and 1.5 × 10 CFU of LAB in control and groups of mouse, fed by INRA-2010-H11 and mixture, respectively. Feeding by investigated lactobacilli was suggested to lead to microbiota biodiversity reduction in small intestine and colon and its augmentation in stomach. Thus, INRA-2010-H11 demonstrated a high aggregation and adhesion activity so it has the potential as a good probiotic strain.

The effects of divalent cations of Ca and Mg on antibacterial activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolates, as well as their different associations were studied. Most LAB strains and associations revealed significant inhibitory effects in MRS against Gram-positive and Gram-negative test-organisms at different Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ concentrations (determined specifically for each LAB strain and each association). Some LAB strains and communities inhibited the growth of pathogenic test-organisms depending on both ions concentrations and cultivation conditions. Interestingly, the presence of Mg ions in medium significantly decreased the antimicrobial activity of LAB communities against pathogenic test-organisms; on the other hand, the combined mixture of ions essentially increased the inhibitory effect in case of time-spaced cultivation. In contrast, the inhibitory effects of many associations were significantly increased at the presence of Mg 2+ and especially ions combination in case of simultaneous cultivation. The addition of ions combination didn’t affect antibacterial activity of LAB isolates. The results allow us to conclude that Ca and Mg ions had inducible effects on antibacterial activity in case of simultaneous cultivation. This probably can be prospective for creation of new antimicrobial preparations and their possible application.