: Ginseng has been widely used in Korea as a natural medicine due to its saponin contents. Although the total amount of ginseng stem and leaf saponins (GSLS) is 4~5 times higher than that of saponin in the root, the root is mainly used. This is due to two reasons: nervous system-stimulant activity of GSLS and pesticide residues in GSLS. In this study, residual agricultural pesticides were removed from GSLS using two types of bacterial treatments. Two GSLS treatment groups of chickens (GSLS-1 and GSLS-2) were established. The chickens were fed 0.4% GSLS-1 or GSLS-2 mixed with crop. We then evaluated the effects of GSLS on bodyweight and several immune parameters. At the end of the experiments, chickens fed GSLS-1 and red ginseng saponin had significantly higher growth rates (16.6% and 8.0%, respectively) compared to the vaccine control group treated with Noblis Salenvac-T. The group fed GSLS-1 also had the highest IgG titer that was significantly different at the end of experiments compared to the other groups. These findings imply that GSLS-1 is a good candidate feed additive for the chicken industry. Keywords

DA-9102 isolated from Actinidia arguta is a candidate of natural medicine currently under Phase II clinical trial for atopic dermatitis in Korea. In this study, spontaneous dermatitis was induced by magnesium deficiency in hairless rats and this system was applied to assess the suppressive effects of DA-9102 on atopic dermatitis-like skin disease. Oral administration of DA-9102 at a dose of 100 mg/kg for 16 days substantially suppressed the occurrence of spontaneous dermatitis. Eczematous skin lesions, water loss and scratching behavior were significantly decreased by DA-9102 in a dose-dependent manner. Infiltration of inflammatory cells into the skin and pathologic remodeling of the epidermis and dermis were much less than the Mg-def. group. Results from flow cytometry analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells indicated that DA-9102 suppressed activation of leukocytes. The decrease in the number of CD45RA+ cells was accompanied by a lower level of IgE in DA-9102 treated rats, and the reduction in the number of CD11b+ cells by DA-9102 in both periphery and skin was significant. Further, DA-9102 not only suppressed the mRNA expression of T(H)2 cytokines including IL-4 and IL-10 in the lymph node but it also decreased the levels of inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide and leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) in the serum. Taken together, these results suggest that DA-9102 is an orally applicable potent immune modulator capable of controlling the occurrence of atopic dermatitis-like skin disease.

: The present study was conducted to determine the antibiotic susceptibilities of local Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhp) and Mycoplasma hyorhinis (Mhr) filed isolates. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of Mhp and Mhr field isolates (twelve each) obtained from enzootic pneumonia-like lung lesions during 2009-2011 from Korea were determined using the broth microdilution method. Tylvalosin showed the highest activity against Mhp and Mhr field isolates, with MIC 90 values of 0.06 µg/mL and 0.12 µg/mL, respectively. Therefore, Korean Mhp and Mhr isolates are highly susceptible to tylvalosin.Keywords : Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Mycoplasma hyorhinis, antimicrobials, minimum inhibitory concentration, porcine enzootic pneumonia Swine mycoplasma Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhp) and Mycoplasma hyorhinis (Mhr) are respiratory pathogens in pigs. They are associated with enzootic pneumonia (EP) and porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) causing huge loses to the porcine industry. Currently commercial vaccines are available only against Mhp; however, their protection ability is not complete [7]. Therefore, use of antimicrobials often becomes necessary to limit the disease in the event of outbreak or as an additional measure to prevent mycoplasma disease. Although considerable data have been obtained on the in vitro antibiotic susceptibility of Mhp and Mhr around the world [6,[8][9][10][11], there are few reports about their susceptibility, and to our knowledge, there is no recent information on antibiotic susceptibility of these mycoplasmas from Korea. In the present study, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of Korea Mhp and Mhr isolates to tylvalosin and other commonly used antibiotics (tiamulin, lincomycin, tilmicosin and chlortetracycline) was determined.The reference strains used in this study were Mhp (ATCC 25934) and Mhr (ATCC 27717) (American Type Culture Collection, USA). Field isolates (twelve each) of Mhp and Mhr which were obtained from EP-like lung lesions during 2009-2011 were used in this study [1,2]. Each of these isolates was identified by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) [3] and passaged 6 times before using in the antimicrobial assay. Both Mycoplasma species were propagated in Friis broth [4] and used at final concentration of approximately 1 × 10 5 CCU/mL. The antimicrobials chlortetracycline, tiamulin and tilmicosin were obtained from Sigma (USA). The lincomycin and tylvalosin were obtained from Dong Bang (Korea) and ECO Animal Health (UK), respectively. The antimicrobials were prepared by binary micro dilution method, in 96-well micro plate (ranging between 64 and 0.0038 µg/mL; SPL Life Sciences, Korea). MICs-were determined using the broth microdilution method as described by Hannan et al. [5]. Readings were taken after incubation of 7 days at 37 o C, and the lowest concentration of antimicrobial inhibiting color change from red to yellow/orange of the medium was defined as MIC of the drug.The results of the in vitro antimicrobial testing for mycoplasma field isolates and t...

Smart homes identify the implicit intentions and needs of occupants through

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