• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2015

With continuing demand for the development of new, effective and safe therapies, an investigation was carried out to test the efficacy of an antibacterial agent derived from marine edible seaweed. The methanolic extract of Ecklonia cava from marine edible seaweed evinced potential antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis. Among five solvent-soluble fractions of E. cava methanolic extract, the ethyl acetate soluble extract (EtOAc) exhibited the strongest antibacterial activity, with a MIC value of $128{\mu}g/mL $ against E. faecalis strains. Furthermore, a synergistic antibacterial effect between an antibiotic and the EtOAc fraction was assessed using fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) indices. A combination of ciprofloxacin and the EtOAc fraction resulted in a ${\sum}FIC_{min}$ range of 0.188 and ${\sum}FIC_{max}$ of 0.508 to 563, suggesting that the ciprofloxacin-EtOAc fraction of E. cava combination resulted in an antibacterial synergy effect against E. faecalis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.385-392
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• 2008

In this study, seawater intrusion was assessed employing a kind of biological parameters such as Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis while lab-prepared reclaimed water was recharged to prevent seawater intrusion. Chemical factors indicating seawater intrusion such as Cl$^-$, Ca$^{2+}$, Mg$^{2+}$ and specific conductivity were also simultaneously investigated where an ion exchange between a matrix in artificial aquifer and cations in solution was estimated. Both Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis were shown to be very sensitive against degree of salinity during saline water intrusion. Enterococcus faecalis more strongly resisted against salinity than that of Escherichia coli. The ratio of Enterococcus faecalis divided by E. coli in the process of seawater intrusion increased up to more than 50$\sim$100 times in 18 hours whereas E. coli was died off more than 90% during pumping and recharge rate kept at 10 mL/min. However, when the rates of both recharge and pumping was kept at 5 mL/min, Enterococcus faecalis / Escherichia coli was sustained in the range of 2.5$\sim$5.0, while Escherichia coli showed dimished death rate. Chemical factors such as Cl$^-$, Ca$^{2+}$, Mg$^{2+}$ and specific conductivity showed more than 0.9 of high correlation each other well explaining the degree of seawater intrusion. The degree of ion exchange between artificial aquifer and saline water can be efficiently interpreted by both minus $\Delta$Na, $\Delta$Mg variation and positive $\Delta$Ca variation.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.70-88
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• 2020

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) form an essential part of the intestinal microbiota of the human body and possess the ability to stabilize the intestinal microbiota, strengthen immunity, and promote digestion as well as intestinal synthesis of vitamins, amino acids, and proteins. Hence, LAB are currently widely used in various products. However, due to the indiscriminate overuse of antibiotics in humans and livestock, bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been increasing rapidly, which has led to serious problems in the treatment of bacterial infections. Additionally, several reports have revealed that antibiotic-resistant LAB may infect people whose immune systems are not fully developed or whose immune systems are temporarily weakened. Therefore, it is imperative to consider the possibility of antibiotic-resistant LAB causing diseases in humans and animals, investigate the mechanism of action between antibiotics and LAB, and determine the relevant regulations for the safe use of LAB.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.273-278
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• 2022

This study evaluates the improved effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) by subjecting pathogenic bacteria to a combination of 630 nm light-emitting diode (LED) and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Bacterial suspensions of 1.5×10⁴ cells/mL were diluted and exposed to ALA concentrations of 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25, and 0.625 mg/mL, incubated for 30 minutes, followed by irradiation with 630 nm LED (18 J/cm² ). The non-irradiated P. aeruginosa group and the group administered only LED light averaged 415 and 245 colonies, respectively. Conversely, the PDT group showed an average of 109, 225, 297, and 285 colonies at concentrations of 10, 5, 2.5, and 1.25 mg/mL of ALA. Evaluating the effect on E. faecalis revealed an average of 8,750 and 8,000 colonies in the group that did not receive the control photosensitizer and the group exposed to light alone, respectively. However, an average of 0, 2350, 4825, and 7475 colonies at concentrations of 5, 2.5, 1.25, and 0.625 mg/mL ALA were determined for the PDT groups. In conclusion, better inhibitory effects were observed for E. faecalis than for P. aeruginosa. Moreover, our results validate the possibility of improved PDT efficacy using a combination of ALA and 630 nm LED.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.198-208
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• 2021

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial effect on Enterococcus Faecalis and physical properties of chitosan added calcium hydroxide canal filling material. Low, medium, high molecular weights of chitosan powder were mixed with calcium hydroxide canal filling material. Also, for each molecular weight group, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0 wt% of chitosan powder were added. An overnight culture of E. faecalis was adjusted to 1 × 10⁶ CFU/ml. For test of antibacterial effect, three different molecular weights of 2.0 wt% chitosan and three different concentrations of high molecular weight chitosan were mixed with calcium hydroxide canal filling material. The absorbance of plates was analyzed using spectrophotometer at 570 nm with a reference wavelength of 600 nm. Physical properties such as flow, film thickness and radiopacity were examined according to ISO 6876 : 2012. All molecular weight type of chitosan containing material showed inhibitory effect against E. faecalis growth compared to non-chitosan added calcium hydroxide canal filling material group (p < 0.05). High molecular weight chitosan containing material showed the most antibacterial effect. Also, the antibacterial effect decreased as the incorporated amount of chitosan decreased (p < 0.05). Every molecular weight group of material containing chitosan had a tendency for reduced flow and radiopacity, increased film thickness according to amount of chitosan. Low molecular weight of 1.0 wt% chitosan addition did not show any significant difference of physical properties compared to conventional calcium hydroxide canal filling material. In conclusion, for reinforcement of antibacterial effect against E. faecalis and for favorable physical properties, 2.0 wt% of chitosan adding is recommended. Considering its antibacterial effect of chitosan, further studies are required for clinical application of chitosan in endodontics and pediatric dentistry.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.55-72
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• 1995

Forty gentamicin-resistant isolates of Enterococcus faecalis were selected from various clinical materials, determined their antimicrobial susceptibility, and studied there R-plasmid characteristics and polypeptide patterns. All of the isolates were susceptible to vancomycin. The MICs($\mu$/ml) of antimicrobial agents to the isolates were as follows; the MIC of gentamicin was 128 and $\geq$2040, ampicillin 1 and 1, chlorarmphenicol 2 and 8, erythromycin 32 and 256, and vancomycin 1 and 2. E. faecalis HL-1 strain had 8 plasmid DNA elements, HL-2 and HL-3 strains had 6, HL-4 had 7, HL-5 had 4, and HL-6 had 5. The 51.7 Kb of gentamicin resistance plasmid DNA was conjugally transferred from two strains of E. faecalis HL-1 and HL-6 to S. aureus SK 982. The plasmid transfer frequency between S. aureus SK 982 and E. faecalis HL-1 or E. faecalis HL-6 was 6.3$\times10^{-4} and 3.7$\times10^{-5}$, respectively. Plasmid curing ratio after the treatment of ethidium bromide(10$\mu$/ml) to E. faecalis tarnsconjugants R-1 and R-6 were about 51% and 67%, respectively. The tetracycline gene was located in 2.15 Kb plasmid of E. faecalis HL-1, but it was not found in the E. faecalis HL-6 by Southern blot analyses. The antigenic components of E. faecalis HL-1, HL-6, R-1 and R-6 strains were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting. The E. faecalis strains had 7 to 16 polypeptide bands, however their major proteins were 97.8 and 26.8 Kd. At the Immunoblotting, 97.8, 95.8, 74.8, 63.5, 33.7 and 26.8 Kd polypeptides of the strains showed major antigenic activities with patient's sera infected intra-abdominally with an E. faecalis strain.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.435-439
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• 2008

The antimicrobial resistance of 160 strains of Enterococcus faecalis and 173 strains of E. faecium to 12 antimicrobial agents was investigated. The test strains were isolated from 126 wild seawater and farmed fish, including olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), black rock fish (Sebastes schlegeli), red sea bream (Pagrus major), and sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus), in 2005 and 2006. Overall, 91.9% of the E. faecalis isolates and 88.4% of the E. faecium isolates showed antimicrobial resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent. The pattern of antimicrobial resistance of the isolates differed little according to the species of fish. The percentage of E. faecalis and E. faecium with specific antimicrobial resistance differed according to the sample source. For the isolates from farmed fish samples, 66.7% of E. faecalis were tetracycline resistant and 54.5% of E. faecium were erythromycin resistant. By contrast, in the wild fish seawater samples, 92.0% of E. faecalis were rifampin resistant and 88.5% of E. faecium were tetracycline resistant.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.141-147
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• 1997

Volatile essential oils obtained by steam distillation from 55 plant parts of 42 species of representative aromatic plants newly collected in Korean peninsula have been evaluated for antimicrobial activity against 5 microorganisms. The essential oils derived from 15 plant parts and 9 plant parts were found to exhibit very strong antimicrobial activities by more than 95% inhibition at 100 ${\mu}g/ml$ against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. Essential oil components such as l-limonene, ${\beta}-myrcene$, linalool, ${\gamma}-terpinene$, ${\alpha},{\beta}-phellandrene$, 1,8-cineole, l-borneol and bornylacetate, as a whole, have primarily contributed to the manifestation of the antimicrobial activity.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.373-377
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• 2009

From April 2008 to January 2009, a total 458 raw milk samples were randomly collected from 15 stock raising farms located in northern area of Kyunggi province and cultured for the presence of Enterococci spp. A total 170 enterococcal isolates were recovered from the raw milk samples. Enterococcus faecalis was predominant species recovered (64.7%), followed by E. faecium (18.8%), E. avium (5.9%), E. gallinarum (5.9%) and E. durans (4.7%). Antimicrobial resistance patterns of 170 Enterococci spp. against ampicillin, erythromycin, tetracyclin, chloramphenicol, vancomycin, ciprofloxacin and streptomycin were tested. According to the result, they showed high level resistance to erythromycin and streptomycin (82,9% and 93,5% respectively), moderately resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol and tetracyclin (50%, 45.9% and 32%, respectively) but fortunately, vancomycin and ciprofloxacin are still effective against this species.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.247-256
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• 2023

Objectives: Enterococcus faecalis is a gram positive diplococci, highly versatile and a normal commensal of the gut microbiome. Resistance to vancomycin is a serious issue in various health-care setting exhibited by vancomycin resistant Enterococci (VRE) due to the alteration in the peptidoglycan synthesis pathway. This study is thus aimed to detect the VRE from the patients with root caries from the clinical isolates of E. faecalis and to evaluate the in-silico interactions between vanA and the Aegles marmelos bio-compounds. Methods: E. faecalis was phenotypically characterized from 20 root caries samples and the frequency of vanA and vanB genes was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Further crude methanolic extracts from the dried leaves of A. marmelos was assessed for its antimicrobial activity. This is followed by the selection of five A. marmelos bio-compounds for the computational approach towards the drug ligand interactions. Results: 12 strains (60%) of E. faecalis was identified from the root caries samples and vanA was detected from two strains (16%). Both the stains showed the presence of vanA and none of the strains possessed vanB. Crude extract of A. marmelos showed promising antibacterial activity against the VRE strains. In-silico analysis of the A. marmelos biocompounds revealed Imperatonin as the best compound with high docking energy (-8.11) and hydrogen bonds with < 140 TPSA (Topological polar surface area) and zero violations. Conclusion: The present study records the VRE strains among the root caries with imperatorin from A. marmelos as a promising drug candidate. However the study requires further experimentation and validation.