No abstract

The antibiotic resistance in Salmonella isolates from 400 imported chicken carcasses in Bhutan and from 178 pig carcasses in Vietnam were analyzed on a random basis against 14 antimicrobial agents. Among the poultry samples tested, 13% were positive for Salmonella. Salmonella Enteritidis dominated with a prevalence of 80.7%, and 40 of the 42 isolates harbored two or more resistance determinants. For the 178 pigs investigated, 49.4% of the swabs and 34.8% of the lymph nodes were Salmonella positive. The most prevalent serotypes in lymph nodes were Salmonella Derby (50.0%) and Salmonella Typhimurium (27.4%). From the Salmonella isolates from pigs, only 6% were sensitive to the antimicrobial agents tested. The high resistance level of Salmonella isolates from pigs and chicken carcasses to different classes of antimicrobials should be emphasized and encourage a prudent use of these agents in animal farming, especially in pig production.

Banana flour could be used as a potential raw material for IMO synthesis.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

A strain of Lactobacillus plantarum SS2 isolated from a fermented star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) beverage product in Thailand has been reported to have some probiotic properties, in vitro. In the present study, its in vivo safety and gastrointestinal survival following oral administration to mice was investigated. The acute toxicity test on ICR mice by force-feeding of a single dose of 10 9 and 10 12 cells per mouse over 14 days after ingestion showed no adverse effects related to the normal behavior of the laboratory mouse. Although the weight gains of the dosed mice were lower than the control they were still within normal values. There were no significant differences in liver weight ratio or spleen weight index among tested mice and control mice and no evidence of bacteremia. Live SS2 cells labeled with a fluorescent dye (cFDA-SE) and administered orally at 10 9 cells per mouse were shown to persist in the gastrointestinal tract for 7 days. Colonies similar to the SS2 were detected in fecal samples from the test mice even though the fecal lactic acid bacterial count showed no significant difference in any mice. The strain SS2 is therefore considered to be a possible alternative choice for an inoculum to produce fermented plant beverages.

No abstract