• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.95-100
• /
• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of bamboo charcoal on Streptococcus mutans which is one of the most important causative agents of dental caries. Methods : S. mutans was incubated with or without bamboo charcoal and then changes were observed in its cell viability and antibacterial effect. Oral epithelial cells viabillity(human gingival fibroblast, HGF) was performed using MTT assay. Antibacterial effect was analyzed using a dilution plating method and agar diffusion method. Results : Oral epithelial cells, human gingival fibroblast (HGF) showed a tendency to increase in bamboo charcoal treatment solution concentrations(0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10%). The bamboo charcoal had an antibacterial effect on S. mutans. Antibacterial effect of bamboo charcoal for the bacterium was 58%. Charcoal concentration of 2% and 5% in the inhibition zone showed a minimal growth, but the concentration of 10% bamboo charcoal in inhibition zone revealed a conspicuous antibacterial activity. Conclusions : Overall results suggested that the bamboo charcoal proved to be bactericidal effect on S. mutans.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.33-37
• /
• 2015

Recently, several health benefits of rice wine, makgeolli, were known due to the interest on the traditional Korean liquor and the researches on the rice wine are increasing. Organic acids produced during the process of rice wine fermentation play important roles in the taste and flavor. In this study, we have examined the optimal conditions for lactic acid production in rice koji as a carbon source. Skim milk was also used as a supplementary ingredient for the optimization of lactic acid fermentation. Bacterial growth of Lactobacillus sakei was monitored under this condition. The pH, acidity of the culture and the ethanol tolerance of this bacterium were also tested. Through these experiments, we were able to optimize the growth condition of lactic acid bacteria by the addition of skim milk. This was also able to affect the change of pH, acidity, sugar concentration and alcohol tolerance, which might contribute to the improvement of the quality of rice wine. The optimal condition for the growth was 2 days with 10% (w/v) of skim milk concentration. With these results, it was confirmed that rice koji was an effective carbon source for the growth of lactic acid bacteria.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.97-101
• /
• 2013

Hairy tongue is a disease caused by hypertrophy of filiform papillae on the tongue dorsum. Clinically, it occurs on the posterior 1/3 of the tongue dorsum and is rarely observed on the lateral and tip of the tongue. Several types of colored pigmentation from white to brown and black appear depending on the ingested food and the existing pigmentation inducing bacteria. Although clinically asymptomatic, patients will visit the clinic for esthetic problems and at rare intervals experience nausea, halitosis, dysgeusia and unpleasant sensation. The exact etiology is yet not known but causes such as inappropriate oral hygiene control, a shift in oral bacterium, infection, radiotherapy, use of antibacterial drugs or immunosuppressants, excessive smoking or alcohol drinking and decrease of salivary flow rate may be a factor of the disease. Clinical symptoms are quite typical and diagnosis may be made simply by observation, not necessarily biopsy. Treatment of hairy tongue is done by eliminating the etiology factors, brushing the tongue gently with a tongue cleaner and in some cases using keratolytic agent. Although it is rare to treat hairy tongue surgically, we will introduce a case successfully treated using carbondioxide laser($CO_2$ laser), after no sufficient improvement had been made by conservative treatment.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral Health
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.290-295
• /
• 2017

Objectives: Dental plaque emits red fluorescence under a visible blue light near the ultra-violet end of the light spectrum. The fluorescence characteristics of each microorganism have been reported in several studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in red fluorescence of oral microorganisms that is affected by blood in the culture media. Methods: The gram-positive Actinomyces naeslundii (AN, KCTC 5525) and Lactobacillus casei (LC, KCTC 3109) and gram negative Prevotella intermedia (PI, KCTC 3692) that are known to emit red fluorescence were used in this study. Each bacterium was activated in broth and cultivated in different agar media at $37^{\circ}C$ for 7 days. Tryptic soy agar with hemin and vitamin $K_3$ (TSA), TSA with sheep blood (TSAB), basal medium mucin (BMM) medium, and BMM with sheep blood (BMMB) were used in this study. Fluorescence due to bacterial growth was observed under 405-nm wavelength blue light using the quantitative light-induced fluorescence-digital (QLF-D) device. The red, green, and blue fluorescence values of colonies were obtained using image-analysis software and the red to green ratio (R/G value) and red to total RGB ratio (R/RGB value) were calculated for quantitative comparison. Results: The QLF-D images of the AN, LC, and PI colonies showed red fluorescence in all media, but the fluorescence of all bacteria was reduced in TSA and BMM media, compared with in TSAB and BMMB media. Both the R/G and the R/RGB values of all bacteria were significantly reduced in growth media without blood (P<0.001). Conclusions: Based on this in vitro study, it can be concluded that red fluorescence of oral bacteria can be affected by growth components, especially blood. Blood-containing medium could be a significant factor influencing red fluorescence of oral bacteria. It can be further hypothesized that bleeding in the oral cavity can increase the red fluorescence of dental plaque.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.419-422
• /
• 1995

Pulmonary actinomycosis is a chronic pulmonary infection characterized by suppuration, abscess formation, and dense scarring. The causative agent, Actinomyces israelii, is a gram-positive, microaerophilic bacterium that resemble fungi. We recently treated two cases of pulmonary actinomycosis. A patient was underwent right lower lobectomy under the impression of bronchiectasis. Pulmonary actinomycosis was diagnosed of postoperatively. He was medicated with high-dose penicillin parenterally. The other patient was also undergone right lower lobectomy under the impression of broncholithiasis and received parenteral penicillin and oral roxythromycin. There was no recurrence or development of empyema. The purpose of this paper is to review of our experience and to enhance consideration of pulmonary actinomycosis.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.286-289
• /
• 2005

Active antibacterial compound against periodontitis-causing bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis was isolated from Kaempferia pandurata and identified as panduratin A. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of panduratin A was $4\;{\mu}g/mL$, much lower than those of other natural antibacterial agents. Panduratin A also showed antibacterial activity against Prevotella intermedia ($2\;{\mu}g/mL$), P. loescheii ($4\;{\mu}g/mL$), and cariogenic Streptococcus mutans ($4\;{\mu}g/mL$). Damage on cell wall and perturbation of cytoplasmic membrane of panduratin A-treated P. gingivalis were visualized through transmission electron microscopy. These results suggest panduratin A, exhibiting strong and preferential antiperiodontal and anticariogenic activities, may be utilized in functional foods for prevention of oral diseases.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.258-261
• /
• 2024

A 4-year-old intact female veiled chameleon was presented with anorexia and respiratory symptoms. Physical examination revealed mild lethargy, open-mouthed breathing and stomatitis, with sticky fluid coating the oral mucus membrane. Pathogens such as Pseudomonas spp., Aeromonas spp., Ranavirus spp. or Herpes spp. has previously been implicated to cause stomatitis. Cytology confirmed fungal hyphae and bacterial growth. Molecular analysis revealed Fusarium (F.) solani and Pseudomonas spp. The fungus F. solani is known to cause keratitis in humans, and has been reported to cause skin lesions or systemic infections in reptiles. Pseudomonas spp. is a common bacterium in associated with stomatitis. This is the first clinical case report of F. solani infection causing stomatitis in reptiles. Several pathogens should be considered for accurate diagnosis and treatment of stomatitis.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.268-274
• /
• 2009

Porphyromonas gingivalis, the gram-negative anaerobic oral bacterium, initiates periodontal disease by binding to saliva-coated oral surface. The cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) genetically linked to FimA1 (1-200 aa) or FimA2 (201-337 aa) of the P. gingivalis fimbrial antigen were introduced into Solanum tuberosum cells by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method. The integration of CTB-FimA1 or CTB-FimA2 fusion genes were confirmed in the chromosome of transformed leaves by genomic DNA PCR amplification method. Synthesis and assembly of the CTB-FimA fusion proteins into oligomeric structures with pentamer size was detected in transformed tuber extracts by immunoblot analysis. The binding activities of CTB-FimA fusion proteins to intestinal epithelial cell membrane receptors were confirmed by GM1-ganglioside enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (GM1-ELISA). The ELISA showed that the expression levels of the CTB-FimA1 or CTB-FimA2 fusion proteins were 0.0019, 0.002% of the total soluble protein in transgenic tuber tissues, respectively The synthesis of CTB-FimA monomers and their assembly into biologically active oligomers in transformed potato tuber tissues demonstrates the feasibility of using edible plants for the production of enterocyte targeted fimbrial antigens that could elicit mucosal immune responses.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.59-64
• /
• 2018

Listeria monocytogenes can asymptomatically inhabit the human intestine as a commensal bacterium. However, the mechanism by which L. monocytogenes is able to inhabit the intestine without pathogenic symptoms remains unclear. We compared the invasion efficiency of L. monocytogenes strains with the 268- and 385-bp-long actA gene. Clinical strains SMFM-CI-3 and SMFM-CI-6 with 268-bp actA isolated from patients with listeriosis, and strains SMFM-SI-1 and SMFM-SI-2 with the 385-bp gene isolated from carcasses, were used for inoculum preparation. The invasion efficiency of these strains was evaluated using Caco-2 cells (intestinal epithelial cell line), prepared as normal and healthy cells with tightened tight junctions and senescent cells with loose tight junctions that were loosened by adriamycin treatment. The invasion efficiency of L. monocytogenes strains with the 268-bp-long actA gene was 1.1-2.6-times lower than that of the strains with the 385-bp-long gene in normal and healthy cells. However, the invasion efficiency of both types of strains did not differ in senescent cells. Thus, L. monocytogenes strains with the 268-bp-long actA gene can inhabit the intestine asymptomatically as a commensal bacterium, but they may invade the intestinal epithelial cells and cause listeriosis in senescent cells.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.255-264
• /
• 2016

The plethora of genome sequence information of bacteria in recent times has ushered in many novel strategies for antibacterial drug discovery and facilitated medical science to take up the challenge of the increasing resistance of pathogenic bacteria to current antibiotics. In this study, we adopted subtractive genomics approach to analyze the whole genome sequence of the Fusobacterium nucleatum, a human oral pathogen having association with colorectal cancer. Our study divulged 1,499 proteins of F. nucleatum, which have no homolog's in human genome. These proteins were subjected to screening further by using the Database of Essential Genes (DEG) that resulted in the identification of 32 vitally important proteins for the bacterium. Subsequent analysis of the identified pivotal proteins, using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Automated Annotation Server (KAAS) resulted in sorting 3 key enzymes of F. nucleatum that may be good candidates as potential drug targets, since they are unique for the bacterium and absent in humans. In addition, we have demonstrated the three dimensional structure of these three proteins. Finally, determination of ligand binding sites of the 2 key proteins as well as screening for functional inhibitors that best fitted with the ligands sites were conducted to discover effective novel therapeutic compounds against F. nucleatum.