Background Cuminum cyminum L., commonly known as cumin, has been traditionally used in Thai traditional medicine and traditional food flavoring. The present study investigated the chemical composition, antimicrobial activity against all tested major food-borne pathogenic bacteria, and bioactive components of essential oil extracted from C. cyminum L. collected in Thailand. Methods The main components of the essential oil were investigated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. Antibacterial activities against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella Typhi were investigated by disk diffusion and microdilution method. The presence of the biologically active antibacterial components was also confirmed by the thin-layer chromatography (TLC)-bioautography. Results The main components of the essential oil investigated by GC-MS were cuminaldehyde (27.10%), beta-pinene (25.04%) and gamma-terpinene (15.68%). The essential oil exhibited antibacterial activity against B. cereus, S. aureus, E. coli and S. Typhi. The essential oil showed the strongest antimicrobial activity against B. cereus with a comparable inhibition zone to tetracycline. TLC confirmed the presence of biologically active antibacterial component in the essential oil against all tested food-borne bacteria. It is further demonstrated that cuminaldehyde was the most active compound in TLC-bioautography which inhibited all of tested bacteria. Conclusions Essential oil extracted from C. cyminum L. exhibited antibacterial activity against all tested major food-borne pathogenic bacteria. Cuminaldehyde is a major bioactive component. Our results suggest that the essential oil extracted from C. cyminum L. could be applied as an alternative natural preservative to control food-borne disease and have the potential for further development of new antibacterial agents.

No abstract

Background: Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Roxb.) DC and Zanthoxylum limonella Alston are spices for flavouring in indigenous Thai food. They are traditionally used as an aromatic, astringent, antimicrobial, antiseptic and antidiabetic agent. The purpose of this study is to examine their chemical compositions and evaluate antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer properties of the essential oils. Materials and Methods: The essential oils of Z. rhetsa and Z. limonella were analysed for phytochemical constituents by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antibacterial activity was determined against several bacteria using the microdilution method. Antioxidant capacity was determined by free radical scavenger 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2, 2-azinobis-3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) methods. The anticancer activity was determined with two breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and the normal African green monkey kidney epithelial (Vero) cell line and using MTT assay. Results: Sabinene (22.51%) and terpinene-4-ol (32.33%) were found to be major components of Z. rhetsa essential oil while limonene (57.94%) and alpha-phelladrene (15.54%) were the major components of Z. limonella essential oil. Essential oil from Z. limonella exhibited broad spectrum antibacterial activity. Z. rhetsa and Z. limonella essential oils exhibited moderate antioxidant activity. The essential oil from Z. rhetsa possessed the ability to inhibit breast cancer cell (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) proliferation and cell viability. Conclusion: This study suggest that the essential oils from Z. limonella and Z. rhetsa could be applied as safe antibacterial and antioxidant agents for food and have the potential for further development of new anticancer agents.

No abstract

In the wild-type allele, DNA methylation levels of 10 consecutive CpG sites adjacent to the upstream 5′-breakpoint of α-thalassemia Southeast Asian (SEA) deletion are not different between placenta and leukocytes. However, no previous study has reported the map of DNA methylation in the SEA allele. This report aims to show that the SEA mutation is associated with DNA methylation changes, resulting in differential methylation between placenta and leukocytes. Methylation-sensitive high-resolution analysis was used to compare DNA methylation among placenta, leukocytes, and unmethylated control DNA. The result indicates that the DNA methylation between placenta and leukocyte DNA is different and shows that the CpG status of both is not fully unmethylated. Mapping of individual CpG sites was performed by targeted bisulfite sequencing. The DNA methylation level of the 10 consecutive CpG sites was different between placenta and leukocyte DNA. When the 10th CpG of the mutation allele was considered as a hallmark for comparing DNA methylation level, it was totally different from the unmethylated 10th CpG of the wild-type allele. Finally, the distinct DNA methylation patterns between both DNA were extracted. In total, 24 patterns were found in leukocyte samples and 9 patterns were found in placenta samples. This report shows that the large deletion is associated with DNA methylation change. In further studies for clinical application, the distinct DNA methylation pattern might be a potential marker for detecting cell-free fetal DNA.

Background:Biomarkers play an important role in oncology, including risk assessment, treatment prediction, and monitoring the progression of disease. In breast cancer, many genes are used as biomarkers. Since, several SNP variations of hallmark – related genes have been reported to be of value in risk prediction in various cancers and populations, some genetic polymorphism loci were combined and reported as biomarkers for use in the risk assessment of breast cancer in Thai people. Methods:Twelve cancer gene hallmarks (15 polymorphic loci) were selected and genotyped in 184 breast cancer patients and 176 healthy individuals in Phitsanulok, Thailand. Results:AA genotype of CD44 rs187116 (c.67+4883G>A), the C allele of CD133 rs2240688 (c.*667A>C), the *2 allele (4 bp deletion) of NF-κB1 rs28362491 and the homozygous null allele genotype of GSTM1 were significantly associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (p<0.05). A combination of these 4 significant loci showed that AA-AA-*1*1-homozygous null allele genotype has the greatest correlation with increased risk of breast cancer (OR = 21.00; 95% CI: 1.77 to 248.11; p = 0.015), followed by GA-AA-*2*2- homozygous null allele genotype (p = 0.037) and GG-AC-*1*2- homozygous null allele genotype (p = 0.028). Conclusion:These findings suggest that the polymorphisms of CD44 rs187116 (c.67+4883G>A), CD133 rs2240688 (c.*667A>C), NF-κB1 rs28362491 and GSTM1 homozygous null allele genotype might be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, and this gene combination could possibly be used as biomarkers for risk prediction, which would be of benefit in planning health surveillance and cancer prevention.

The non-structural protein 1 (NS1) of avian influenza virus was defined as one of the virulent factors. To understand the effect of NS1 protein of influenza virus H5N1 isolated in Thailand on type I (α/β) interferon (IFN) synthesis, five reverse genetic viruses were constructed and used as models. The viruses were generated using NS genomic segment from A/Peurto Rico/8/1934 (H1N1) and four avian influenza viruses isolated from the first outbreak in Thailand. All the viruses have the rest of the genome from A/Peurto Rico/8/1934 (H1N1). The constructed viruses were named (1) NS1 PR8/34, (2) NS1 wild type, (3) NS1 L15FD53G, (4) NS1 N171I and (5) NS1 E71K, respectively. The type I (α/β) IFN gene expression in control and infected primary chicken embryonic fibroblast cells were analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results show that the inhibition of IFN-β gene expression by NS1 wild type infected cells is stronger than NS1 N171I, NS1 E71K, NS1 PR8/34 and NS1 L15FD53G, respectively. The data suggest that the difference of amino acid sequence of NS1 protein contributes to the IFN-β antagonist. In contrast, the difference of the NS1 protein does not influence in the IFN-α antagonistic activity.

This study aimed to characterize polymorphism of the b-globin gene (framework) among common b-thalassemia mutations found in northern Thailand. Thirty-one homozygous b-thalassemia major patients admitted to Chiang Mai University Hospital were identified using direct DNA sequencing method. Among 15 patients with homozygous of codon 41/42 (-TCTT), eight were homozygous of framework 1 (FW1), one was homozygous of FW3A, and the remainders were heterozygousof FW1 and FW3A. The gene frequencies of FW1 and FW3A in the patients were 0.733 (22/ 30) and 0.267 (8/30), respectively. All 11 patients with homozygous of codon 17 (A-T) were homozygous of FW3A, while three patients with homozygous of intron 1 nt 1 (G-T) were homozygous of FW1. Both patients with homozygous of codon 71/72 (+A) were FW3A. In this report, the numbers of b-globin gene frameworks were restricted in each b-thalassemia mutation. This investigation may provide further information for the study of the evolution of common mutations causing b-thalassemia major in northern Thailand.