• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.93-97
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• 2015

PURPOSE. Xerostomia can diminish the quality of life, leads to changes in normal chemical composition of saliva and oral microbiata, and increases the risk for opportunistic infections, such as Candida albicans. Various artificial salivas have been considered for patients with xerostomia. However, the knowledge on the antifungal and antiadhesive activity of artificial saliva substitutes is limited. The aim of the present study was to evaluate influence of two artificial salivas on the adhesion of Candida albicans to the polymethylmethacrylate disc specimens. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Two commercial artificial salivas (Saliva Orthana and Biotene Oral Balance Gel) were selected. 45 polymethylmethacrylate disc specimens were prepared and randomly allocated into 3 groups; Saliva Orthana, Biotene-Oral Balance gel and distilled water. Specimens were stored in the artificial saliva or in the sterile distilled water for 60 minutes at $37^{\circ}C$. Then they were exposed to yeast suspensions including Candida albicans. Yeast cells were counted using ${\times}40$ magnification under a light microscope and data were analysed. RESULTS. Analysis of data indicated statistically significant difference in adhesion of Candida albicans among all experimental groups (P=.000). Findings indicated that Saliva Orthana had higher adhesion scores than the Biotene Oral Balance gel and distilled water (P<.05). CONCLUSION. In comparison of Saliva Orthana, the use of Biotene Oral Balance Gel including lysozyme, lactoferrin and peroxidase may be an appropriate treatment method to prevent of adhesion of Candida albicans and related infections in patients with xerostomia.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.245-251
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• 2018

In this study, Coffea arabica ethanol extract (CAE) was tested for possible functional cosmetic agent. Whitening effect was measured by tyrosinase inhibition assay, and anti-oxidant activity was checked by SOD-like activity. SOD-like activity of CAE showed $94.8{\pm}6.2%$ at $500{\mu}g/mL$. The anti-bacterial activities CAE was evaluated against three different gram-positive bacteria and six gram-negative bacteria including MRSA strains. CAE exhibited in vitro broad spectrum antimicrobial activities of gram-negative bacteria without antifungal activity. CAE was strong exhibited against MRSA CCARM3561. The tyrosinase and L-DOPA inhibitory activities of the CAE lower than those positive control arbutin. CAE reduced melanin contents of B16-F10 melanoma cell in a dose dependent manner and decrease about 89.2% at a concentration $100{\mu}g/mL$. These result highlight the potential of coffee extract as a naturally active and non-toxic antibacterial suitable for cosmetic applications.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.215-222
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• 1991

The absorption characteristics of itraconazole, which is an antifungal agent, from intestinal segments in the anesthetized rat i1l situ were investigated in order to design an effective oral drug delivery system. The pH-solubility profile of itraconazole, the rate and extent of absorption of itraconazole, the optimal absorption site(s) of itraconazole and the absorption enhancing effect of sodium cholate on itraconazole were examined in the present study. In situ single-pass perfusion method and recirculating perfusion technique using duodenum(D), jejunum(J) and ileum(I) were employed for the calculation of apparent permeability(Pe) and apparent first-order rate constant(Kobs). respectively. The results of this study were as follows; (1) Itraconazole showed appreciable aqueous solubility only at pH values of below 2.0. (2) pe(cm/sec) decreased in the following order: $D(10.24{\pm}1.78{\times}10^{-4})>J(8.86{\pm}0.79{\times}10^{-4})>I(3.78{\pm}0.13 X 10^{-4})$. (3) $Kobs(min^{-1})$ decreased in the following order: $J(17.12{\pm}3.19{\times}10^{-3})>D(13.37{\pm}0.6{\times}10^{-3})>I(11.05{\pm}0.91{\times}10^{-3})$. (4) The solubility of itraconazole markedly increased with the increase of the concentration of sodium cholate. (5) The addition of 10 mM sodium cholate significantly increased the apparent first-order rate constant of itraconazole in the ileum by a factor of 6.8.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.68-77
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• 2011

Fifty five species of medicinal plant materials were tested for their antifungal activity in vitro against Rhizoctonia solani AG 2-1 and Trichoderma harzianum to select plant species that can be used to improve the biocontrol efficacy of T. harzianum. Six species were effective against R. solani AG 2-1 but were also antagonistic to T. harzianum, except for Cinnamomum loureirii stem bark (CSB). CSB inhibited mycelial growth of R. solani AG 2-1 by 73.7% but showed an inhibitory effect on mycelial growth of T. harzianum by only 2.2%. Scanning electron microscophs showed that the CSB treatment resulted in deformed R. solani AG 2-1 hyphal cells, and transmission electron microscophs revealed degenerated cell structures such as degenerated cytoplasm and disentangled cell wall and the accumulation of electron-dense inclusions (asterisks) in the CSB treatment. The biocontrol efficacy of radish damping-off increased greatly following the combined treatments of T. harzianum and CSB and the combined treatment increased efficacy from 6.4-23.1% to 37.1-87.3% compared with either treatment alone. CSB did not affect T. harzianum population growth, as it was almost the same in rice-bran peat medium (culture) amended with 0.1% and 1.0% CSB powder as in non-amended medium. The formulation of T. harzianum in rice-bran peat medium amended with CSB powder reduced the severity of radish damping-off by 80.6%, suggesting that T. harzianum and CSB can be formulated as a biocontrol product for the control of R. solani AG 2-1.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2012

Indole compound is a bacterial metabolite synthesized and released by an entomopathogenic bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila K1. The antibiotic activity was evaluated against plant pathogens, such as Phytophthora blight and anthracnose of red pepper. Indole significantly suppressed mycelial growth of Phytophthora blight and anthracnose pathogens. Under natural sunlight conditions, indole maintained the antifungal activity for at least sixty days. The activity was not affected under the condition of soil-water. When the indole suspension was applied to surface soil before transplanting of red pepper seedlings and was then regularly sprayed to the foliage of the plants with ten days interval, it resulted in significant reduction of the disease occurrences (Phytophthora blight, anthracnose, soft rot, and black mold) by about 30%. These results suggest that indole can be used to control Phytophthora blight and anthracnose of red pepper.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.282-289
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• 2017

Background: To investigate the possibility of using Asarum sieboldii as an environment-friendly fumigant for protecting organic cultural heritages, the inhibitory effect of A. sieboldii extract against wood rot fungi on Hanji was examined. Methods and Results: The physical, optical, and morphological properties of Hanji inoculated with Trametes versicolor and Tyromyces palustris, and exposed to the n-hexane fraction of A. sieboldii extract, were measured. The physical properties were expressed as weight loss, zero-span tensile strength and viscosity and the optical properties were depicted by luminance and chromaticity ($L^*$, $a^*$, and $b^*$). The results showed that, the n-hexane fraction of A. sieboldii extract inhibited the growth of fungi on Hanji, and preserved its condition. At a concentration of 25 mg, the n-hexane fraction of A. sieboldii extract maintained zero-span tensile strength, increased viscosity, and restricted discoloration of Hanji. It also was confirmed that the weight of fungi infested Hanji exposed to the extract did not decrease. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed that the spores and hyphae of T. versicolor and T. palustris were not present on Hanji during treatment with > 25 mg of the n-hexane fraction of A. sieboldii extract. Conclusions: These results indicate that the n-hexane fraction of A. sieboldii extract by virtue of its antifungal effectiveness may help in preserving Korean paper cultural heritages, including Hanji.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.153-156
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• 2008

One of the most common drugs used against a wide variety of anaerobic protozoan parasites is metronidazole. However, this drug is mutagenic for bacteria and is a potent carcinogen for rodents. Thymus vulgaris is used for cough suppression and relief of dyspepsia. Also it has antibacterial and antifungal properties. The aim of this study was to investigate antiamebic effect of Thymus vulgaris against Entamoeba histolytica in comparison with metronidazole. One hundred gram air-dried T. vulgaris plant was obtained and macerated at $25^{\circ}C$ for 14 days using n-hexane and a mixture of ethanol and water. For essential oil isolation T. vulgaris was subjected to hydrodistillation using a clevenger-type apparatus for 3 hr. E. histolytica, HM-1: IMSS strain was used in all experiments. It was found that the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) for T. vulgaris hydroalcoholic, hexanic extracts, and the essential oil after 24 hr was 4 mg/mL, 4 mg/mL, and 0.7 mg/mL, respectively. After 48 hr the MIC for T. vulgaris hydroalcoholic and hexanic extracts was 3 and 3 mg/mL, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Iranian T. vulgaris is effective against the trophozoites of E. histolytica.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.127-140
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• 2017

Metal nanoparticles have been intensively studied within the past decade. Nano-sized materials have been an important subject in basic and applied sciences. Zinc oxide nanoparticles have received considerable attention due to their unique antibacterial, antifungal, and UV filtering properties, high catalytic and photochemical activity. In this study, microbiological aspects of scale formation in PVC pipelines bacteria and fungi were isolated. In the emerging issue of increased multi-resistant properties in water borne pathogens, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle are being used increasingly as antimicrobial agents. Thus, the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum fungal concentration of ZnO nanoparticles towards pathogens microbe were examined in this study. The results obtained suggested that ZnO nanoparticles exhibit a good anti fungal activity than bactericidal effect towards all pathogens tested in in-vitro disc diffusion method (170 ppm, 100 ppm and 30 ppm). ZnO nanoparticles can be a potential antimicrobial agent due to its low cost of production and high effectiveness in antimicrobial properties, which may find wide applications in various industries to address safety issues. Stable ZnO nanoparticles were prepared and their shape and size distribution characterized by Dynamic light scattering (35.7 nm) and transmission electron microscopic TEM study for morphology identification (20 nm), UV-visible spectroscopy (230 nm), X-ray diffraction (FWHM of more intense peak corresponding to 101 planes located at $36.33^{\circ}$ using Scherrer's formula), FT-IR (Amines, Alcohols, Carbonyl and Nitrate ions), Zeta potential (-28.8). The antimicrobial activity of ZnO nanoparticles was investigated against Bacteria and Fungi present in drinking water PVC pipelines biofilm. In these tests, Muller Hinton agar plates were used and ZnO nanoparticles of various concentrations were supplemented in solid medium.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.1078-1084
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• 1999

A synthetic cecropin A(1-13)-melittin(1-13) [CA-ME] hybrid peptide was known to be an antimicrobial peptide having strong antibacterial, antifungal and antitumor activity with minimal cytotoxic effect against human erythrocyte. Analogues were synthesized to investigate the influences of the flexible hinge region of CA-ME on the antibiotic activity. Antibiotic activity of the peptides was measured by the growth inhibition against bac-terial, fungal and tumor cells and vesicle-aggregating or disrupting activity. The deletion of Gln-Gly-Ile (P1) or Gly-Gln-Gly-Ile-Gly (P3) from CA-ME brought about a significant decrease on the antibiotic activities. In contrast, Gly-Ile-Gly deletion (P2) from CA-ME or Pro insertion (P5) instead of Gly-Gln-Gly-Ile-Gly of CA-ME retained antibiotic activity. This result indicated that the flexible hinge or β-bend structure provided by Gly-Gln-Gly-Ile-Gly, Gln-Gly, or Pro in the central region of the peptides is requisite for its effective antibiotic activity and may facilitate easily the hydrophobic C-terminal region of the peptide to penetrate the lipid bilayers of the target cell membrane. In contrast, P4 and P6 with Gly-Gln-Gly-Pro-Gly or Gly-Gln-Pro in the central region of the peptide caused a drastic reduction on the antibiotic activities. This result suggested that the con-secutive β-bend structure provided by Gly-Gln-Gly-Pro-Gly or Gly-Gln-Pro in the central hinge region of the peptide seems to interrupt the ion channel/pore formation on the target cell membranes.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.100-104
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• 2021

trans-Cinnamaldehyde (TCA), as one of the active ingredients in cinnamon, has been reported to have antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal effects as well as anti-cancer effects in several cancer cell lines. However, reports of TCA in gastric cancer are rare, and its mechanism is unclear. In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative effect of TCA and its mechanism in gastric cancer AGS cells. TCA dose-dependently inhibited the cell viability of AGS cells. Our results suggested that TCA induces apoptosis through changes in cell morphology. To elucidate its mechanism, we investigated the expression level of apoptosis-related proteins. TCA induced the expression of p53 and Bax proteins, and then increased the cleaved caspase 9 and cleaved PARP. These results indicated that TCA triggers apoptosis via p53 pathway in AGS cells. Our results suggested that TCA might be a new anticancer drug candidate for gastric cancer.