[Differences of vacA alleles and cagA gene positivity of Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from two different countries: Turkey and Germany]. / Iki Farkli Ülkeden (Türkiye ve Almanya) Izole Edilen Helicobacter pylori Izolatlarinda VacA Allellerindeki Farklilik ve cagA Geni Pozitifligi.

Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from different regions of the world or human ethnic groups exhibit some differences at certain loci. The aim of this study was to determine allelic differences of H.pylori strains isolated from two countries, Turkey and Germany. A total of 72 H.pylori isolates, of which 37 strains were from Kocaeli province of Turkey and 35 strains from Hamburg, Germany were included in this study. H.pylori strains had been isolated from gastric biopsies of the patients. Genomic DNA was extracted with phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol procedure and vacA alleles and cagA regions were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primer sets. The rates of cagA positivity in Kocaeli and Hamburg strains were found as 75.7% (28/37) and 71.4% (25/35), respectively. VacA s1a allele was predominant both in Turkey and Germany isolates. There were five vacA mosaicisms in Hamburg strains, including 14 for s1a/m1a (40%), nine for s1a/m2 (25.7%), eight for s2/m2 (17.1%), three for s1a/m1 (8.5%) and three for s1b/m2 (8.5%). There were four vacA mosaicisms in Kocaeli strains, including 22 for s1a/m2 (59.4%), eight for s2/m2 (21.6%), four for s1a/m1a (10.8%), and three for s1a/m1 (8.1%). In this study, Hamburg and Kocaeli strains did not reveal significant differences regarding cagA status and vacA s1 allele. Whereas vacA s1a/m1a, cagA(+) type was the most frequent in Hamburg strains and s1a/m2, cagA (+) type in Kocaeli strains.

In Vitro Antifungal Activity of Ankaferd Blood Stopper Against Candida albicans.

BACKGROUND: Candida albicans is a memeber of the oral flora that can lead to various complications in immunosupresive patients after oral surgery processes. Ankaferd Blood Stopper® (ABS) is a medical plant extract that is safe to use in patients with dental surgery bleedings in Turkey. OBJECTIVE: The study evaluated the antifungal activity of ABS medicinal plant extract against C albicans using the agar diffusion and broth microdilution methods. METHODS: The plant extract antifungal activity was assessed in vitro either by applying the ABS extract directly and by applying different concentrations of ABS onto Candida culture. For these experiments, an agar diffusion method was used. To determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), a broth microdilution method was used. RESULTS: Different volumes of the active substance (10, 20, 30, and 40 µL) were applied onto Candida (0.5 McFarland solution) cultivated plate; Candida growth was inhibited in accordance with the volumes of ABS. However, when various dilutions of ABS (1:2, 1:20, 1:40, and 1:80) were added as drops containing 20 µL, no antifungal effects were found. No MIC values were identified using broth microdilution. When different dilutions of ABS containing 100 µL of 0.5 McFarland solution of C albicans were cultured depending on the time (10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes), the effect of the duration was not significant. CONCLUSION: The various tests were carried out to investigate antifungal effects of ABS on Candida, but none were found.