Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activities of Sulfated Polysaccharides from Marine Algae against Dental Plaque Bacteria.

Dental plaque biofilms cause various dental diseases; therefore, inhibiting the growths of the dental plaque bacteria which produce biofilms can be a strategy for preventing dental disease. Certain sulfated polysaccharides from marine algae exert antimicrobial activities against human bacterial pathogens in addition to their physiological benefits. On the basis of these observations, the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of sulfated polysaccharides from different marine algae were evaluated against dental plaque bacteria. Among the sulfated polysaccharides, a fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus showed notable antimicrobial activities against the selected dental plaque bacteria, including some foodborne pathogenic bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentrations were of 125 to 1000 µg mL-1. Regarding the antibiofilm activity, the fucoidan at the concentrations of above 250 µg mL-1 completely suppressed the biofilm formations and planktonic cell growths of Streptococcus mutans and S. sobrinus. However, no eliminative effect on the completed biofilm was observed. The fucoidan consisted of almost fucose base polysaccharide containing approximately 14.0% sulfate content. The average molecular weight of the fucoidan was changed by heat treatment (121 °C for 15 min) and it affected the antimicrobial activity.

DISASTER RELIEF FOR THE JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE-TSUNAMI OF 2011: STRESS REDUCTION THROUGH THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION® TECHNIQUE.

This study examined changes in self-reported stress symptoms after instruction in the Transcendental Meditation(®) technique among 171 residents of two cities (Sendai and Ishinomaki) directly affected by the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster compared with 326 non-disaster Tokyo participants previously tested before and after learning the technique and a no-treatment control group (n = 68). The participants completed a rating checklist of mental and physical symptoms. Disaster area participants who learned the Transcendental Meditation(®) technique in contrast to controls showed a significant drop in total symptom score from pre-test to post-test (effect size = -1.09). Results were comparable for an ordinal measure of symptom intensity. The findings suggest the potential value of this procedure for relief from disaster trauma.

Shelf life of semifried tuna slices coated with essential oil compounds after treatment with anodic electrolyzed NaCl solution.

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of two commonly used essential oils after treatment with anodic electrolyzed NaCl solution in order to extend the shelf life of coated semifried tuna slices. Samples of tuna slices were treated with 100-fold electrolyzed water and coated with an edible solution containing 1% essential oil (0.5% eugenol [E] plus 0.5% linalool [L]). The coated slices were fried at 170 degrees C for 1 min and then stored at 5 and 25 degrees C. Total volatile basic nitrogen of slices treated with electrolyzed water and 1% (E+L) decreased from 15.5 for the nontreated control slices to 9.7 immediately after treatment and remained at a low level (<30) until the end of the storage period (day 20). Treatment with 1% (E+L) significantly suppressed lipid oxidation in coated semifried tuna. Sensory evaluation and microbiological assays showed that treatment with electrolyzed water and 1% (E+L) extended the shelf life of coated semifried slices to 15 and 2 days compared with 5 and 1 days for control slices during storage at 5 and 25 degrees C, respectively.

Preservative effect of combined treatment with electrolyzed NaCl solutions and essential oil compounds on carp fillets during convectional air-drying.

The antimicrobial and antioxidant effects on carp fillet samples of treatments with alkaline electrolyzed NaCl solution EW (-) prior to treatment with acidic electrolyzed NaCl solution EW (+) and 1% solutions of the essential oils consisting of 0.5% carvacrol and 0.5% thymol (1% Cv+Ty) were tested. First carp fillet samples were treated with EW (-), then EW (+), followed by 1% (C+T), represented as [EW (-)/EW (+)/1% (Cv+Ty)] for 15 min, during drying at 45 degrees C. Samples were subsequently evaluated by microbiological, chemical and sensory analyses. Microbiological analyses indicated that the initial total microbial counts of samples treated with EW (-)/EW (+), 1% (Cv+Ty) or EW (-)/EW (+)/1% (Cv+Ty) were significantly (p< or =0.05) reduced, compared with the control sample. Treatment with EW (-)/EW (+)/1% (Cv+Ty) gave the strongest overall inhibition of microbial growth when compared to all of the other treatments. The volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) value of samples treated with EW (-)/EW (+)/1% (Cv+Ty) was kept at low level (18.46+/-0.45) until the end of drying period (5 days), compared with control samples (40.33+/-0.58). Treatment with EW (-)/EW (+)/1% (Cv+Ty) during drying significantly reduced the peroxide values (PV) and thiobarbituric acid values (TBA). Sensory evaluation indicated that there were significant differences (p< or =0.05) in the color, odor, taste, flavor and texture, on the end of the 5-day drying period between samples treated with EW (-)/EW (+)/1% (Cv+Ty), as compared to all of the other treatments. We conclude that treatment with EW (-)/EW (+)/1% (Cv+Ty) had stronger antimicrobial and antioxidant effects than all of the other treatments on carp fillets during drying, and could be a good alternative to artificial preservatives in food industry.

Antimicrobial substances from rhizomes of the giant knotweed Polygonum sachalinense against the fish pathogen Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida.

The antimicrobial compounds against the fish pathogen Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida were isolated from Polygonum sachalinense rhizomes. The structures of the antimicrobial compounds 1 and 2 were determined by 1H and 13C NMR, 2D-NMR (COSY, HSQC, HMBC and ROESY) and FAB-MS to be phenylpropanoid glycosides, vanicoside A and B, respectively. Both compounds have feruloyl and p-coumaroyl groups bonded to a sucrose moiety in their structures. Vanicoside A also has an acetyl group in the sucrose moiety. The MIC values for vanicoside A and B against Ph. damselae subsp. piscicida DPp-1 were 32 and 64 microg/ml, respectively. The antimicrobial activities of these vanicosides were modest, in contrast to higher activities (MICs at < 4 microg/ml) of antibiotics, florphenicol, ampicillin and amoxicillin, which have been generally used for treating pasteurellosis. The activities of the vanicosides, however, were higher than those (MICs at 256 microg/ml) of ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid. It was suggested that the structure of phenylpropanoids esterified with sucrose was essential for higher antimicrobial activity of vanicosides and also acetylation of sucrose might affect the activity against the bacterium.