Rhamnolipids as emulsifying agents for essential oil formulations: antimicrobial effect against Candida albicans and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

This work examines the influence of essential oil composition on emulsification with rhamnolipids and their use as therapeutic antimicrobial agents against two opportunistic pathogens, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Candida albicans. Rhamnolipids, produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with waste frying oil as the carbon source, were composed of eight rhamnolipid homologues. The rhamnolipid mixture was used to produce emulsions containing essential oils (EOs) of Melaleuca alternifolia, Cinnamomum verum, Origanum compactum and Lavandula angustifolia using the titration method. Ternary phase diagrams were designed to evaluate emulsion stability, which differed depending on the essential oil. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the EOs alone and the emulsions was evaluated. The antimicrobial activity presented by the essential oils alone increased with emulsification. The surface properties of rhamnolipids contribute to the positive dispersion of EOs and thus increase their availability and antimicrobial activity against C. albicans and S. aureus. Therefore, rhamnolipid-based emulsions represent a promising approach to the development of EO delivery systems.

In vitro study of the cytotoxicity and antiproliferative effects of surfactants produced by Sphingobacterium detergens.

The application of biosurfactants in the biomedical field is growing due to their antimicrobial activity, low cytotoxicity and ability to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. In the light of this therapeutic potential, as well as possible applications in cosmetics or as drug vehicles in pharmaceutical products, a new biosurfactant produced by Sphingobacterium detergens was investigated for its haemolytic activity and cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects in different cell lines. Fraction A showed 100% haemolysis in rabbit erythrocytes, but in Fraction B the rate was only 83%. When comparing cytotoxicity values (IC50) of the two fractions in model fibroblast and keratinocyte cell cultures, Fraction B was less cytotoxic, showing lower values than the reference compound SDS, indicating low skin irritability. Finally, in non-differentiated intestinal Caco-2 cultures, Fractions A and B reduced cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by 44% and 75%, respectively. According to these results, biosurfactants produced by S. detergens have potential application in cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations.

Bacterial lipoxygenases, a new subfamily of enzymes? A phylogenetic approach.

Lipoxygenases (EC. 1.13.11.12) are a non-heme iron enzymes consisting of one polypeptide chain folded into two domains, the N-terminal domain and the catalytic moiety ß-barrel domain. They catalyze the dioxygenation of 1Z,4Z-pentadiene moieties of polyunsaturated fatty acids obtaining hydroperoxy fatty acids. For years, the presence of lipoxygenases was considered a eukaryotic feature, present in mammals, plants, small marine invertebrates, and fungi, but now, some lipoxygenase sequences have been detected on prokaryotic organisms, changing the idea that lipoxygenases are exclusively a eukaryotic affair. Lipoxygenases are involved in different types of reactions on eukaryote organisms where the biological role and the structural characteristics of these enzymes are well studied. However, these aspects of the bacterial lipoxygenases have not yet been elucidated and are unknown. This revision discusses biochemical aspects, biological applications, and some characteristics of these enzymes and tries to determine the existence of a subfamily of bacterial lipoxygenases in the context of the phylogeny of prokaryotic lipoxygenases, supporting the results of phylogenetic analyzes with the comparison and discussion of structural information of the first prokaryotic lipoxygenase crystallized and other eukaryotic lipoxygenases structures.

Shewanella vesiculosa sp. nov., a psychrotolerant bacterium isolated from an Antarctic coastal area.

Two strains of psychrotolerant bacteria, designated M7(T) and M5, isolated from Antarctic coastal marine environments were studied to determine their taxonomic position. The organisms comprised Gram-negative, rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic cells that were motile by means of single polar flagella. Neither of the bacterial isolates had a requirement for Na(+). These two psychrotolerant strains grew at temperatures ranging from -4 to 30 degrees C. Both strains were capable of producing H(2)S from thiosulfate and were able to use sodium nitrate and trimethylamine N-oxide as terminal electron acceptors during anaerobic growth. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis placed M7(T) and M5 within the genus Shewanella; the strains showed the highest similarity (99.9 and 99.2 % respectively) with respect to the type strains of Shewanella livingstonensis and Shewanella frigidimarina. However the levels of gyrB sequence similarity between strain M7(T) and the type strains of S. livingstonensis and S. frigidimarina were 87.6 and 87.4 %, respectively. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments performed between the Antarctic isolate M7(T) and S. livingstonensis LMG 19866(T) and S. frigidimarina LMG 19475(T) revealed levels of relatedness of 32 and 35 %, respectively. Strain M5 showed 100 % DNA relatedness with respect to strain M7(T). The DNA G+C content of these bacteria was 42 mol%. Several phenotypic characteristics, the cellular fatty acid compositions and the quinone content of strains M7(T) and M5 served to differentiate them from related shewanellae. On the basis of the data from this polyphasic taxonomic study, M7(T) and M5 constitute a single genospecies. They represent a novel species of the genus Shewanella, for which the name Shewanella vesiculosa sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is M7(T) (=LMG 24424(T) =CECT 7339(T)).