Antibacterial activity of the noni fruit extract against Listeria monocytogenes and its applicability as a natural sanitizer for the washing of fresh-cut produce.

This study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial activity of the noni fruit extract (NFE) against Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC, 19111 and 19115) and assess its applicability for the washing of fresh-cut produce. Based on the results of the disc diffusion test, L. monocytogenes (ATCC, 19111 and 19115) was susceptible to the activity of NFE than other pathogens studied. Additionally, results of the time-kill assay indicated that NFE at a concentration of 0.5-0.7% effectively killed L. monocytogenes within 7 h. Furthermore, analysis of the intracellular components such as nucleic acids and proteins released from the bacterial cells and their SEM imaging revealed that NFE could increase the membrane permeability of cells resulting in their death. Compared to their unwashed samples, washing of romaine lettuce, spinach, and kale with 0.5% NFE gave a reduction of 1.47, 2.28, and 3.38 log CFU/g, respectively against L. monocytogenes (ATCC, 19111 and 19115), which is significantly different to that of NaOCl. A significant correlation was observed between the antibacterial effect induced due to NFE washing with the surface roughness of the fresh-cut produce than its surface hydrophobicity. Moreover, washing with NFE was not found to affect the color of the samples. These results indicated that NFE demonstrates good antibacterial activity against L. monocytogenes and can be used as a natural sanitizer to ensure the microbiological safety of fresh-cut produce.

Gastroprotective Effects of Plants Extracts on Gastric Mucosal Injury in Experimental Sprague-Dawley Rats.

Rubus crataegifolius (black raspberry, RF), Ulmus macrocarpa (elm, UL), and Gardenia jasminoides (cape jasmine, GJ) are well known for hundreds of years as folk medicines in China and Korea to treat various gastrointestinal disturbance. The present study evaluated the gastroprotective effects of these plants either single or in combination against HCl/EtOH-induced gastritis and indomethacin-induced ulcer in rat model. Stomach ulcer was induced by oral ingestions of HCl/EtOH or indomethacin. Treatment with RF, UL, and GJ separately or in combination was done 1 h before ulcer induction. On HCl/EtOH-induced gastritis RF, UL, and GJ at a dose of 150 mg/kg showed comparable antigastritis effect (less than 50% inhibition) with lesion index of 94.97±8.05, 108.48±11.51, and 79.10±9.77 mm compared to cimetidine (45.33±23.73 mm). However, the combination of RF, UL, and GJ at a dose of 150 mg/kg with a ratio of 50:50:50 showed remarkable antigastritis effect with 77% inhibition. The observed lesion index at a ratio of 50:50:50 was 23.34±9.11 mm similar to cimetidine (18.88±19.88 mm). On indomethacin-induced ulcer, RF and GJ showed 38.28% and 51.8% inhibition whereas UL showed around 17.73% inhibition at 150 mg/kg. Combination of RF, UL, and GJ at 150 mg/kg showed strong antigastritis effect with 83.71% inhibition. These findings suggest strong gastroprotective effect of combined extract. In addition, these plants showed significant antioxidant activity in DPPH scavenging assay and antilipid peroxidation activity. Combination of black raspberry, elm, and cape jasmine might be a significant systemic gastroprotective agent that could be utilized for the treatment and/or protection of gastritis and gastric ulcer.

Improving the Microbial Safety of Fresh-Cut Endive with a Combined Treatment of Cinnamon Leaf Oil Emulsion Containing Cationic Surfactants and Ultrasound.

Endive is widely consumed in a fresh-cut form owing to its rich nutritional content. However, fresh-cut vegetables are susceptible to contamination by pathogenic bacteria. This study investigated the antibacterial activities of the combined treatment of cinnamon leaf oil emulsion containing cetylpyridinium chloride or benzalkonium chloride (CLC and CLB, respectively) as a cationic surfactant and ultrasound (US) against Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on endive. The combined treatment of CLC or CLB with US reduced the population of L. monocytogenes by 1.58 and 1.47 log colony forming units (CFU)/g, respectively, and that of E. coli O157:H7 by 1.60 and 1.46 log CFU/g, respectively, as compared with water washing treatment. The reduction levels of both pathogens were higher than those observed with 0.2 mg/ml sodium hypochlorite. In addition, the combined treatment showed no effect on the quality of the fresh-cut endive (FCE). In particular, the degree of browning in FCE was less for the treatment group than for the control and water washing treatment groups. Thus, cationic surfactant-based cinnamon leaf oil emulsions combined with US may be an effective washing treatment for the microbial safety of FCE.

Combined Treatment on the Inactivation of Naturally Existing Bacteria and Escherichia coli O157:H7 Inoculated on Fresh-Cut Kale.

An aqueous chlorine dioxide (ClO2) treatment combined with highly activated calcium oxide (CaO) and mild heat was tested for inactivating naturally existing bacteria and Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated on fresh-cut kale. Kale samples were treated with different concentrations of ClO2 (10, 30, and 50 ppm), CaO (0.01%, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2%), and mild heat (25°C, 45°C, 55°C, and 65°C) as well with combinations of 30 or 50 ppm ClO2 and 0.2% CaO at 55°C for 3 min. An increasing concentration of ClO2 and CaO significantly reduced the microbialpopulation compared with the control. In addition, mild heating at 55°C elicited greater microbial reduction than the other temperatures. A combined treatment of 50 ppm ClO2 and 0.2% CaO at 55°C reduced the population of naturally existing bacteria on kale by 3.10 logcolony forming units (CFU)/g, and the counts of E. coli O157:H7 were below the detection limit (1 log CFU/g). In addition, no significant differences in the Hunter color values were evident in any treatment during storage. Therefore, a combined treatment of ClO2 and active CaO at 55°C can be an effective sanitizing method to improve the microbiological safety of fresh-cut kale without affecting its quality.

Association rule mining and network analysis in oriental medicine.

Extracting useful and meaningful patterns from large volumes of text data is of growing importance. In the present study we analyze vast amounts of prescription data, generated from the book of oriental medicine to identify the relationships between the symptoms and the associated medicines used to treat these symptoms. The oriental medicine book used in this study (called Bangyakhappyeon) contains a large number of prescriptions to treat about 54 categorized symptoms and lists the corresponding herbal materials. We used an association rule algorithm combined with network analysis and found useful and informative relationships between the symptoms and medicines.

Promotion effect of Schisandra nigra on the growth of hair.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Schisandra nigra, a plant native to Jeju Island, South Korea, on the promotion of hair growth. When rat vibrissa follicles were treated with 85% ethanol (EtOH) extract of S. nigra, the hair-fiber lengths of the vibrissa follicles increased significantly. In addition, after topical application of the EtOH extract of S. nigra onto the back of C57BL/6 mice every other day, anagen progression of the hair shaft was induced. Moreover, the extract increased both the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the bulb matrix region and the proliferation of immortalized vibrissa dermal papilla cells. In order to determine the mechanism by which S. nigra promotes hair growth, we examined its relationship with the transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-beta2) signal pathway, which is known to be a regulator of catagen induction. When the vibrissa follicles in the anagen phase were treated with S. nigra extract for 7 days, the expression of TGF-beta2 in the bulb matrix region was found to be lower than that of the control follicles that were expected to be in the anagen-catagen transition phase. These results suggest that S. nigra extract has the potential to promote hair growth via down regulation of TGF-beta2 and the proliferation of dermal papilla.

Induction of the apoptosis of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells by Eurya emarginata.

This study examined the inhibitory effect of Eurya emarginata extracts on the growth of cancer cells. The ethylacetate (EtOAc) fraction of the E. emarginata leaves markedly inhibited the growth of leukemia cells including HL-60. When the HL-60 cells were treated with its EtOAc fraction, DNA fragmentation and sub-G1 hypodiploid cells were observed. Moreover, the EtOAc fraction of E. emarginata reduced the c-Myc and Bcl-2 protein and mRNA levels in a time-dependent manner, whereas the Bax protein and mRNA expression levels were slightly increased. The results suggest that the inhibitory effect of E. emarginata on the growth of HL-60 appears to arise from the induction of apoptosis via the down-regulation of Bcl-2 and c-Myc expression with an increase in the Bax expression level.