Polyphenon 60 refers to the mixture of catechins present in green tea. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activities of polyphenon 60 against 4 strains of Streptococcus mutans and 2 strains of Streptococcus sorbrinus, which are the major causative bacteria of dental caries. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of polyphenon 60 for S. mutans and S. sobrinus were determined and the effect of biofilm formation inhibition of that was evaluated. The MBC value of polyphenon 60 against the bacterial strains was 2.5 mg/ml except for one particular strain, S. mutans KCOM 1128 for which the value was 1.25 mg/ml. The results of biofilm formation inhibition assay revealed that polyphenon 60 inhibited biofilm formation more than 90% at a concentration of 2.5 mg/ml. It was apparent that polyphenon exhibited biofilm formation inhibition activity along with bactericidal effect against S. mutans and S. sobrinus. Therefore, it is proposed that polyphenon 60 as one of the components of bactericidal agents could be useful in developing oral hygiene products, toothpaste or gargling solution.

본 연구는 제주산 자생 로즈마리 에센셜 오일의 항염 및 피부상재균에 대한 항균 활성을 확인하기 위한 것이다. 로즈마리 에센셜 오일은 물 증류법으로 추출하였다. 로즈마리 에센셜 오일의 항염 효능을 확인하기 위하여 RAW 264.7 세포에서 LPS에 의해 유도된 NO와 PGE2의 생성을 농도 의존적으로 억제하는 것을 확인하였다. Western blot 실험을 통해 이들을 생합성하는 효소인 iNOS, COX-2 단백질의 발현이 농도 의존적으로 감소하는 것을 확인하였다. 또한 전염증성 cytokine인 TNF-⍺와 IL-6의 생성 억제 효능을 확인하였다. 항생제 내성균주 각 2종을 포함한 S. epidermidis 3종, P. acnes 3종에 대한 항균 활성을 실험한 결과, paper disc법에서 저해환이 관찰되었고, MIC, MBC 실험을 통하여 균생육 저해와 사멸를 확인하였다. 위의 실험 결과로부터 로즈마리 에센셜 오일의 항염증, 항균 효능을 확인 하였으며 향후 화장품 및 스킨케어 소재로서 활용 가능성을 확인하였다.

본 연구에서는 도축장에서 분리된 Listeria monocytogenes를 저해할 수 있는 식물성 항균 물질을 탐색하고, 각 항균 물질의 최소살균농도(MBC)를 확인하였다. 잠재적인 항균 물질로 자몽종자 추출물, 감귤류 추출물, 생강 추출물, 배 추출물, 매실 농축액, 도라지 추출물, 대추 추출물, 오미자 추출물을 선정하였고, 대상 균주로는 국내 도축장에서 분리한 15 개의 L. monocytogenes 균주를 혼합하여 사용하였다. MBC 확인 결과, 최대 4.0 μg/mL 농도의 생강 추출물, 배 추출물, 매실 농축액, 도라지 추출물, 대추 추 출물, 오미자 추출물은 고농도의 L. monocytogenes (7 Log CFU/mL)에 대해 균 저해 효과가 전혀 나타나지 않았다. 반면, 7 Log CFU/mL의 L. monocytogenes에 대한 자몽종자 추출물과 감귤류 추출물의 MBC는 0.002 μg/mL인 것으로 확인되었다. 3 Log CFU/mL의 L. monocytogenes에 대한 MBC를 시험해 본 결과, 자몽종자 추출물과 감귤류 추출물의 MBC는 0.001 μg/mL로 나타났다. 이상의 결과로 볼 때 자몽종자 추출물과 감귤류 추출물은 L. monocytogenes를 제어하기 위해 적용될 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.

The world is becoming overwhelmed with widespread diseases as antibiotic resistance increases at an alarming rate. Hence, there is a demanding need for the discovery and development of new antimicrobial drugs. The ocean is gifted with many organisms like phytoplankton, algae, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, mollusk, tunicates and echinoderms, which are known to produce a wide variety of bioactive secondary metabolites with pharmacological properties. Many new therapeutic drugs have emerged from marine invertebrates, although the large algal community is yet to be explored. The bioactivity possessing secondary metabolites of marine algae include polyphenols, phlorotannins, alkaloids, halogenated compounds, sulfated polysaccharides, agar, carrageenan, proteoglycans, alginate, laminaran, rhamnan sulfate, galactosylglycerol, and fucoidan. These metabolites have been found to have great antimicrobial activities against many human aliments. Studies show that the algal community represents about 9% of biomedical compounds obtained from the sea. This review looks at the evolution of drugs from the ocean, with a special emphasis on the antimicrobial activities of marine algae.

Major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs), important protein components of bee royal jelly (RJ) and exclusive nourishments for queen, exhibit various biological and pharmacological activities. RJ is one of the most studied bee products, but the crucial roles for MRJP2 as an antimicrobial and antioxidant agents remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrated the antimicrobial and antioxidant functions of the Asiatic honeybee (Apis cerna) MRJP2 (AcMRJP2). Recombinant AcMRJP2 of approximately 53 kDa was expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells, and it exhibited antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and yeast via binding to microbial surfaces and inducing structural damage in microbial cell walls. AcMRJP2 protected mammalian and insect cells against oxidative damage through shielding of cell membranes. Interestingly, AcMRJP2 exhibited DNA protection activity and DPPH radical-scavenging activity. Altogether, our data demonstrated that AcMRJP2 functions as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.

Honeybee (Apis mellifera) egg-yolk protein vitellogenin (Vg) plays roles in immunity, antioxidation, and life span beyond reproduction, but it also acts as an allergen Api m 12 in venom. Here we established antimicrobial and antioxidant roles of honeybee Vg in the body and venom. Using the cDNA encoding Vg identified from Asiatic honeybee (A. cerana) workers, recombinant A. cerana Vg (AcVg) protein of approximately 180 kDa was produced in baculovirus-infected insect cells. In A. cerana worker bees, AcVg was expressed in the fat body and venom gland and was present in the secreted venom. AcVg induced structural damage in microbial cell walls via binding to microbial surfaces and exhibited antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi. AcVg protected mammalian and insect cells against oxidative damage through direct shielding of cell membranes. Interestingly, AcVg exhibited DNA protection activity against reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, the transcript level of AcVg was upregulated in the fat body, but not in the venom gland, of worker bees with antimicrobial peptides and antioxidant enzymes in response to microbial infection and oxidative stress. Our data indicate that AcVg is involved in innate immunity upon infection and in a defense system against ROS, supporting a crucial role of honeybee Vg as an antimicrobial and antioxidant agent in the body and venom.

Exudative epidermitis (EE) is a generalized skin disease of pigs, mainly caused by Staphylococcus hyicus (S. hyicus). Antibiotic resistant S. hyicus leads to the failure of antimicrobial treatments. This necessitates proper identification of the strains in the field and determination of their antimicrobial susceptibility. This study was carried out to isolate Korean S. hyicus and determine its antimicrobial resistance. Isolate was sensitive to ceftiofur, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, gentamicin, neomycin, and tylosin, but remarkably resistant to amoxicillin, lincomycin, penicillin, streptomycin, and tetracycline. Our study contributes to the understanding of the characteristics and antimicrobial resistance of Korean S. hyicus, which in turn will provide an antimicrobial treatment strategy to control EE.

Onion vinegar, which has an undesirable flavor and taste formed through alcohol and acetic acid fermentation, possesses additives that can improve sensory quality. Thus, the objective of this study was to present an optimized blending ratio using response surface methods for an onion vinegar beverage by adding Omija extracts. This study was performed to formulate an Omija-onion vinegar beverage (OOVB) and investigate its antioxidant properties and antimicrobiological effects. The experimental design was conducted using an optimal mixture model of response surface methodology which generated eighteen experimental trials with overall acceptance as the responses. According to the statistical analyses, OOVB demonstrated a ratio containing onion vinegar, water, brown sugar, apple extracts and Omija extracts of 10, 72.3, 4.4, 12.2 and 1.1 (weight ratio), respectively. The OOVB revealed desirable nutrition values (phenolics compounds 19.3 mg/100 g, total flavonoids 3.1 mg/100 g, quercetin 1.9 mg/100). The OOVB displayed antibacterial effects in Gram negative Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus. The findings revealed that OOVB was 18% in DPPH radical inhibitionand 11% in superoxide dismutase-like activity thus, OOVB has nutritional value and good quality as well as potential biological activities for functional beverages.

The ability of antimicrobial resistant Salmonella strains to cause invasive disease can be attributed to various virulence genes. In this study, the virulence genes located in SPI-1, SPI-2, SPI-5, SPI-11 were found in all antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella isolates. This suggests that these genes play important roles in Salmonella invasion, growth, or survival in the host. The association between the presence of virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance was assessed using the Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and there is a positive association between the gatC, tcfA, hylE, spiA, pagC, msgA, invA, sipB, prgH, spaN, orgA, tolC, iroN, sitC, lpfC, and sopB genes, and resistance to CF, NA and S. This suggests that the association between antimicrobial agents and virulence genes has been shown to vary with the types of antibiotics that are commonly used in different countries. These different associations can be explained by the mechanisms underlying pathogenicity and the acquisition of resistance genes by Salmonella.

This study measured dyeing properties under different dyeing conditions and levels of antimicrobial activity when man-made fibers are dyed with gallnut, including rayon, tencel, tencel blended fabric, soybean fiber, and nylon non-mordanted. The dye up-take (K/S), color (L*a*b*), and color differences (△E) were measured with a colorimeter, and the number of bacteria present in the dyed fabrics were determined using Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia as strains. The results are as follows: First, the optimal dyeing conditions for man-made fibers dyed with gallnut are 60 minutes of dyeing time and a 80℃ dyeing temperature. Second, gallnut dye is most effective on soybean fiber and then, in descending order of effectiveness, on nylon, rayon, tencel, and tencel blended fabric. This means that dyeing properties of nitrogen containing fibers are excellent when using gallnut. Third, all man-made fibers are dyed brown with gallnut. This implies dyeing possibility of man-made fibers about gallnut dye, so development and supply of natural dyed goods of man-made fibers can be increased. Fourth, in all man-made fibers dyed with gallnut extract, both Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia show 99.9% reduction ratios of fungistasis, which indicate antimicrobial activity. Therefore, safe, functional, man-made materials can be developed to relieve symptoms from and treat patients with skin ailments.

We have analyzed the transcriptome of Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans using RNA sequencing and identified severalantimicrobial peptide candidates. Among the peptides, named scolopendrasins, were selected based on the physicochemicalproperties of antimicrobial peptides via an in silico analysis. As a result, we evaluated the antimicrobial activities ofscolopendrasins against Gram positive and negative bacteria including Candida albicans by radial diffusion assay and colonycount assay. We also investigated the cytotoxicity of scolopendrasins through hemolysis assay. We found that the actionof scolopendrasins involved binding to the surface of microorganisms via a specific interaction with lipopolysaccharides,lipoteichoic acid, and peptidoglycans, which are components of the bacterial membrane. These results will provide a basisfor developing therapeutic agents such as peptide antibiotics.

Although the grasshopper Oxya chinensis sinuosa has long been used as a food in Korea, there is little data on itsfunctional effects. Thus we prepared and analyzed total RNA from the whole body of adult Escherichia coli non-immunizedand immunized Oxya chinensis sinuosa strains. Using an Illumina Hiseq sequencer, we generated a total of 66,555 pooledtranscriptome and singletons with and without Escherichia coli immunization, respectively. Then, we performed in silicoanalysis of the Oxya chinensis sinuosa transcriptome, using bioinformatics tools for screening putative antimicrobial peptides(AMPs) and 38 AMPs were finally selected and tested their antimicrobial activity of Gram positive, Gram negative bacteriaand antifungal activity with radial diffusion assay. As a result, 5 out of 38 AMPs showed the highest antimicrobial activityand antifungal activity against microbes and it also evidenced with no hemolytic activity.