• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.375-384
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• 2011

This study was performed to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of methanol extract from Rosmarinus officinalis L. and its fractions. The ethyl acetate fraction of rosemary had a higher antioxidant activity in both DPPH ($3.22\;{\mu}g/ml$) and ABTS ($5.05\;{\mu}g/ml$) compared to other extracts and fractions. Based on the results of the FRAP assay, the ethyl acetate fraction of rosemary showed a value of $5.9{\pm}0.3\;{\mu}M/{\mu}g$, and buthanol fraction and rosmarinic acid exhibited values of $4.8{\pm}0.2\;{\mu}M/{\mu}g$ and $5.1{\pm}0.1\;{\mu}M/{\mu}M$, respectively. Measurements of the antimicrobial activities of the extracts, fraction against gram positive, negative bacteria revealed that the methanol extract, hexane, ethyl acetate, and chloroform fraction of rosemary caused Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli to form clear zones greater than 12 mm. Furthermore, the methanol extract and chloroform fraction showed high antibacterial activity, with inhibition zone exceeding 13 mm. The methanol extract and chloroform fraction of rosemary had broad antimicrobial spectrums and low MIC values. Therefore, methanol extracts of rosemary could serve as potential antibacterial agents to inhibit pathogen growth in food and hand sanitizers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.433-440
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• 2015

Several studies suggest that regular consumption of walnuts may have beneficial effects against oxidative stress-mediated disease such as cancer. The present study reports the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, together with the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of several solvent extracts (methanol, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water) obtained from walnut (Juglans regia L.) green husk. MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) values of the walnut extracts for 8 human pathogenic bacteria strain were determined using agar dilution method. Antioxidant activity of extracts were assessed using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2’-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)) assays, EC₅₀ of DPPH and ABTS scavenging activities, and determination of total phenolic and flavonoid content and its correlation with DPPH and ABTS scavenging capacities. Among the six extracts, ethyl acetate extract (EtOAc Ex) showed the highest antimicrobial activity at 3.2 mg/ml of MICs against Staphylococcus aureus SG511. Total flavonoids and polyphenol contents of EtOAc Ex were 42.48 mg of quercetin equivalents (QE)/g and 223.25 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g respectively. The highest antioxidative potential was shown by the sample extracted with EtOAc Ex (EC₅₀=13.43 μg/ml for DPPH and EC₅₀=41.83 μg/ml for ABTS radical scavenging activity assay). These results showed that J. regia green husk extracts can be used as an easily accessible source of natural antibacterial agents and natural antioxidants.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.694-705
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to isolate and identify marine bacterium with anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) activity, and to purify the anti-MRSA compound, as well as to determine its activity and synergistic effects. Among the marine bacteria isolated in this study, the YJ-1 isolate had the strongest anti-MRSA activity. The YJ-1 isolate was identified on the basis of its biochemical characteristics and an analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. The YJ-1 isolate showed over 99.2% homology with Pseudomonas stutzeri, and was designated as a Pseudomonas sp. YJ-1. The optimal culture conditions were $25^{\circ}C$ and initial pH 7.0. For the purification of the anti-MRSA compounds, the YJ-1 was cultured in Pa PES-II medium, and the culture filtrates were extracted by ethyl acetate, hexane, and 80% MeOH. The 80% MeOH fraction was separated by a $C_{18}$ ODS column, silica gel chromatography and a reverse phase HPLC, to yield three anti-MRSA agents, the MR1, MR2, and MR3 compounds. When the MR1 compound of $250{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ concentration was applied to the MRSA cells, over 95% of bacterial cells was killed within 48 hr. Compared with vancomycin and ampicillin, the MR1 compound showed significant anti-MRSA activity. In addition, the anti-MRSA activity was increased by dose and time dependent manners. Furthermore, the combination of an MR1 compound with vancomycin produced a more rapid decrease in the MRSA cells than did the MR1 compound alone. Taken together, our results suggest that the Pseudomonas sp. YJ-1 and its anti-MRSA compounds could be employed as a natural antibacterial agent in MRSA infections.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.813-818
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• 2020

The archaeal clusters of orthologous genes (arCOG) algorithm, which identifies common genes among archaebacterial genomes, was used to identify conservative genes among 168 archaebacterial strains. The numbers of conserved orthologs were 14, 10, 9, and 8 arCOGs in 168, 167, 166, and 165 strains, respectively. Among 41 conserved arCOGs, 13 were related to function J (translation, ribosomal structure, and biogenesis), and 10 were related to function L (replication, recombination, and repair). Among the 14 conserved arCOGs in all 168 strains, 6 arCOGs of tRNA synthetase comprised the highest proportion. Of the remaining 8 arCOGs, 2 are involved in reactions with ribosomes, 2 for tRNA synthesis, 2 for DNA replication, and 2 for transcription. These results showed the importance of protein expression in archaea. For the classes or orders having 3 or more members, genomic analysis was performed by averaging the distance values of the conservative arCOGs. Classes Archaeoglobi and Thermoplasmata of the phylum Euryarchaeota showed the lowest and the highest average of distance value, respectively. This study can provides data necessary for basic scientific research and the development of antibacterial agents and tumor control.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.571-582
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• 2016

Bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) is one of most important diseases in Cucurbitaceae due to infection of Acidovorax citrulli, causing huge economic losses damage worldwide. This seedborn disease spread rapidly at period of high temperature and humidity. The eco-friendly farming is getting popular. So far there was no effective agent to control BFB in eco-friendly farming. Therefore, effect of the material based on chinese nut-gall extract with antibacterial activity against BFB to was tested against A. citrulli. Different hosts showed various symptoms of BFB. Liquid formulation among exhibited most effective anti-bacterial activity on A. citrulli. Pot experiment in greenhouse showed the potential as an control agent of BFB in cucurbits. The treatment of material based on chinese nut-gall extract showed the positive effect on survival of the watermelon seedling and on the length of the cucumber seedling treated with A. citrulli. We cautiously conclude that the material based on chinese nut-gall extract used in this study may be good agents against major diseases of cucurbits in the future even though it is require to be tested with more study on field test.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.396-403
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• 2014

Ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) is an economically valuable pharmaceutical crop in Korea. In order to find promising biocontrol agents for soil-borne fungal pathogens which infect ginseng roots, we have isolated actinomycete, BK185 from soil. The isolate was investigated for the antifungal activity against to ginseng rot pathogens prior to testing genetic and chemical properties. The strain was identified as Streptomyces sp. using phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence. The most closely related species was S. sporoclivatus and S. geldanamycininus with high similarities (>99%). The isolate, BK185 showed positive reaction for PCR detection targeting biosynthetic gene clusters of PKS (Type-I polyketide synthase) and NRPS (Non-ribosomal polypeptide synthetase) genes. Major metabolite from the BK185 was analyzed by The LC/MS and identified to geldamycin, which was known to contained broad antibacterial, antifungal or anticancer activities. The results provide evidences that the strain, BK185 can be promising biocontrol agent for ginseng organic farming.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.355-364
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• 2016

This study was initiated to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of methanol extract (ME) and hot water extract (HWE) obtained from the fruiting bodies of medicinal mushroom, Phellinus gilvus. The free radical scavenging activity of ME from P. gilvus on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were 93.65% at 2 mg/mL, which was comparable with the positive control, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT, 96.97%) at the same concentration. The ferrous ion-chelating ability of ME and HWE was significantly higher than that of BHT at all concentration levels. The antimicrobial assay of ME was performed against six bacteria and one species of fungus. ME exhibited antibacterial activity against 5 out of 6 bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; whereas, ME did not show antimicrobial activity against gram-negative bacterium Vibrio vulnificus and fungal species Candida albicans. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ME against 5 strains of bacteria, such as S. aureus, S. mutans, B. subtilis, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa, was 100, 100, 50, 100, 200 mg/mL, respectively. The results suggest that good antioxidant and microbial activities of P. gilvus fruiting bodies might be used for natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agents.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 1971

Recent reports confirm that R factors is widespread in Korea among Enterobacteriaceae isolated from humans. However, no reports have been made concerning the incidence of transferable drug resistance in domestic animals in this country. A total of 211 isolates of Escherichia coli, including 94 strains from dogs, 76 strains from pigs, 30 strains from chickens, and 21 strains from cow milk, were examined for drug resistance and distribution of R factors. And, respective two strains of Salmonella E group and Salmonella cholerasuis which were isolated from dogs and pigs, respectively were also examined for the same purposes. Of 211 strains of E. coli isolated, 66.8% were found to be resistant to 8 antibacterial agents such as streptomycin(SM), tetracycline(TC), chloramphenicol(CP), ampicillin sodium(AP), nalidixic acid(NA), gentamicin(GM), and polymyxin B(PX). Among the isolates, 86.2% of the strains from dogs, 70% of the strains from chickens, 43.4% of the strains from pigs, and 28.6% of the strains from milk, respectively, were found to be resistant to the drugs. The following percentage of resistance of E. coli to each individual drugs was encountered: of 94 strains from dogs, AP, 64.9%; SM, 20.2%; NA, 12.8%, CP and PX, 8.5% each; GM, 2.1% each; GM, 2.1%. Among 76 strains from pigs, 42.2% and 2.6% each were resistant to TC, AP and PX, respectively. Among 30 strains from chickens, 43.3% were resistant to SM, TC, AP, respectively, and no strains were resistant to the other drugs. No strains of the isolated from milk were resistant to the drugs, except that 28.6% were resistant to SM and AP, respectively. Of the strains from dogs, multiply resistant strains(56.8%) were more than singly resistant one(43.2%) and sixteen different drug resistant patterns were observed. The most frequently encountered patterns were AP TC AP and SM CP AP NA. Of the isolates from other sources, the most frequently encountered resistant patterns were as follows: TC among the strains from pigs; SM TC AP from chickens; SM AP from milk. Of the resistant strains from dogs, 32% carried R factors and the most common resistance patterns of R factors were AP TC AP and SM TC CP, whereas 35.2% of the resistant strains from pigs carried R factors of which the most common encountered pattern was TC. Of the resistant strains from chickens, 46.9% carried R factors of which the most common patterns were SM TC TC AP and AP, whereas 50% of the resistant strains from milk carried R factors of which the most common pattern was SM. Of 4 strains of Salmonella isolated, no strains were resistant to the drugs, except that only one strain of Salmonella E group isolated from a dog was resistant to AP. The strain did not harbor R factor.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.329-334
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• 2016

The inhibitory effect of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), one of the antioxidants in green tea (Camellia sinensis), against Salmonella Enteritidis was evaluated in commercial braised quail eggs at two temperatures (4 and $25^{\circ}C$). Although S. Enteritidis was dose-dependently suppressed by EGCG in pure culture at $25^{\circ}C$, it was not inhibited in the sauce or eggs at this temperature. At low temperature ($4^{\circ}C$), S. Enteritidis was inhibited in both the sauce and eggs by $400{\mu}g/mL$ EGCG. Thus, EGCG at an appropriate concentration could be a useful food additive for inhibiting S. Enteritidis in braised quail eggs at low temperatures.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.140-144
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• 2003

Type Ⅰ signal peptidase is an integral membrane protein that functions to cleave signal peptides from secreted and membrane proteins. The enzyme serves as a potential target for the development of novel antibacterial agents due to its unique physiological properties. Despite being one of the best characterized enzymes, the catalysis of Type Ⅰ signal peptidase still remains controversy over the catalytic serine/lysine dyad mechanism. It appears that the dyad proteases are generally less efficient than the prototypical serine/histidine/aspartic acid triad found in most enzymes, although Type Ⅰ signal peptidase is an exception to this rule. In this paper, we have proposed that Type Ⅰ signal peptidase may act as the serine/lysine/aspartic acid triad cataltytic mechanism. Therefore, the aspartic acid 99 residue in the E. coli signal peptidase was chosen and mutated to an alanine to see if there is any possible role of the aspartic acid in the catalytic function. Type Ⅰ signal peptidase D99A protein was inactive in vitro assay using the procoat synthesized by in vitro transcription translation. However, the mutant was active using a highly sensitive in vivo assay. Pulse-chase experiments show that the replacement of aspartic acid 99 with alanine results in a very unstable signal peptidase molecule. Therefore, we conclude that it is unlikely that the residue is directly involved in catalysis, but rather plays an important role in stabilizing the protein structure.