Exploring the antibacterial potential of plant extracts and essential oils against Bacillus thermophilus in beet sugar for enhanced sucrose retention: a comparative assessment and implications.

Sugar beet is one of the greatest sources for producing sugar worldwide. However, a group of bacteria grows on beets during the storage process, leading to a reduction in sucrose yield. Our study focused on identifying common bacterial species that grow on beets during manufacturing and contribute to sucrose loss. The ultimate goal was to find a potential antibacterial agent from various plant extracts and oils to inhibit the growth of these harmful bacteria and reduce sucrose losses. The screening of bacterial species that grow on beet revealed that a large group of mesophilic bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus xylosus, Enterobacter amnigenus, and Aeromonas species, in addition to a dominant thermophilic species called Bacillus thermophilus, were found to be present during the manufacturing of beets. The application of 20 plant extracts and 13 different oils indicated that the extracts of Geranium gruinum, Datura stramonium, and Mentha spicata were the best antibacterials to reduce the growth of B. thermophilus with inhibition zones equal to 40, 39, and 35 mm, respectively. In contrast, the best active oils for inhibiting the growth of B. thermophilus were Mentha spicata and Ocimum bacilicum, with an inhibitory effect of 50 and 45 mm, respectively. RAPD-PCR with different primers indicated that treating sugar juice with the most effective oils against bacteria resulted in new recombinant microorganisms, confirming their roles as strong antibacterial products. The characterization of Mentha spicata and Ocimum bacilicum oils using GC/MS analysis identified cis-iso pulegone and hexadecanoic acid as the two main bioactive compounds with potential antibacterial activity. An analysis of five genes using DD-PCR that have been affected due to antibacterial activity from the highly effective oil from Mentha spicata concluded that all belonged to the family of protein defense. Our findings indicate that the application of these pure antibacterial plant extracts and oils would minimize the reduction of sucrose during sugar production.

Functional Recellularization of Acellular Rat Liver Scaffold by Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Molecular Evidence for Wnt/B-Catenin Upregulation.

BACKGROUND: Liver transplantation remains the only viable therapy for liver failure but has a severely restricted utility. Here, we aimed to decellularize rat livers to form acellular 3D bio-scaffolds suitable for seeding with induced pluripotent cells (iPSCs) as a tool to investigate the role of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in liver development and generation. METHODS: Dissected rat livers were randomly divided into three groups: I (control); II (decellularized scaffolds) and III (recellularized scaffolds). Liver decellularization was established via an adapted perfusion procedure and assessed through the measurement of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and DNA content. Liver recellularization was assessed through histological examination and measurement of transcript levels of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, hepatogenesis, liver-specific microRNAs and growth factors essential for liver development. Adult rat liver decellularization was confirmed by the maintenance of ECM proteins and persistence of growth factors essential for liver regeneration. RESULTS: iPSCs seeded rat decellularized livers displayed upregulated transcript expression of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway-related, growth factors, and liver specification genes. Further, recellularized livers displayed restored liver-specific functions including albumin secretion and urea synthesis. CONCLUSION: This establishes proof-of-principle for the generation of three-dimensional liver organ scaffolds as grafts and functional re-establishment.

Adipose mesenchymal stem cells combined with platelet-rich plasma accelerate diabetic wound healing by modulating the Notch pathway.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulceration is a serious chronic complication of diabetes mellitus characterized by high disability, mortality, and morbidity. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been widely used for diabetic wound healing due to its high content of growth factors. However, its application is limited due to the rapid degradation of growth factors. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of combined adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) and PRP therapy in promoting diabetic wound healing in relation to the Notch signaling pathway. METHODS: Albino rats were allocated into 6 groups [control (unwounded), sham (wounded but non-diabetic), diabetic, PRP-treated, ADSC-treated, and PRP+ADSCs-treated groups]. The effect of individual and combined therapy was evaluated by assessing wound closure rate, epidermal thickness, dermal collagen, and angiogenesis. Moreover, gene and protein expression of key elements of the Notch signaling pathway (Notch1, Delta-like canonical Notch ligand 4 (DLL4), Hairy Enhancer of Split-1 (Hes1), Hey1, Jagged-1), gene expression of angiogenic marker (vascular endothelial growth factor and stromal cell-derived factor 1) and epidermal stem cells (EPSCs) related gene (ß1 Integrin) were assessed. RESULTS: Our data showed better wound healing of PRP+ADSCs compared to their individual use after 7 and 14 days as the combined therapy caused reepithelialization and granulation tissue formation with a marked increase in area percentage of collagen, epidermal thickness, and angiogenesis. Moreover, Notch signaling was significantly downregulated, and EPSC proliferation and recruitment were enhanced compared to other treated groups and diabetic groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrated that PRP and ADSCs combined therapy significantly accelerated healing of diabetic wounds induced experimentally in rats via modulating the Notch pathway, promoting angiogenesis and EPSC proliferation.