Unlike companion cats raised at home, feral cats are more likely to be infected with parasites. Feral cats can transmit parasites not only to other cats but also to pets and people. This study was conducted to investigate prevalence intestinal parasites prevalence through the fecal examination of feral cats in Gunsan City. After making a suspension in Sheather's Sucrose solution, the feces were mixed and centrifuged, and then examined under a microscope. The results were revealed mostly unsporulated oocysts and sporulated oocysts of coccidia, followed by pinworm's eggs, which showed a relatively high infection rate. Scabies and mites were also found in the feces. Due to the behavioral characteristics of cats, they tend to remove the foreign objects from their fur through grooming, which is why a lot of hairs were observed in the feces, and it is thought that this is why scabies and mites were also found in the fecal examination results. The results of this study confirm that feral cats are exposed to those parasites. It is also thought that consideration should be given to expanding the TNVR (trap-neuter-vaccinate-release) program, which can reduce the number of feral cats.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the colon and rectum with intervals of acute exacerbation. Its etiology remains unknown, although recent studies suggest that pro-inflammatory cytokines initiate the inflammatory responses. In this study, we investigated the ameliorative effects of YB-21 (new product containining Lactobacillus plantarum, Barley Bran and Nymphaeaceae) in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. The experimental groups were divided into 6 groups (n = 10) of ICR mice: normal control(NC), DSS-treated(PC, positive control), DSS+latic-L-treated (3×107CFU/ml), DSS+latic-M-treated (3×109CFU/ml), DSS+latic-H-treated (3×1011CFU/ml), and DSS+YB-21-treated. Histological examinations indicated that YB-21 suppressed edema, mucosal damage, and the loss of crypts induced by DSS. Moreover, YB-21 reduced serum level expressions of, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). These results suggest that YB-21 has an anti-colitic effect by the suppression of intestinal inflammatory responses in DSS-induced colitis in mice.

The efficacy of standard therapeutic strategies for Helicobacter pylori infection is decreasing over time due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains. At the our previous study, we reported that the lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus paracasei HP7 isolated from kimchi - a fermented vegetable dish widely consumed in Korea - had inhibitory effects against H. pylori in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we are aimed to investigate the synergistic effect of probiotic HP7 and the extracts of Perilla frutescens (PFE) and Glycyrrhiza glabra (GGE) to alleviate Helicobacter pylori-induced damages. H. pylori infection in KATO III cells decreased mucin gene expression over time. The reduction of mucin gene expression was significantly recovered at 6 hours when GGE, PFE, and Lactobacillus HP7 were co-treated. H. pylori infection of C57BL/6 mice was demonstrated by H. pylori-IgG concentration, and results showed significant increase in mice post-infected with H. pylori. Blood Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α levels were elevated 4 weeks after H. pylori inoculation. However, the treatment of a combined mixture of HP7 including GGE and PFE induced significant decrease of TNF-α level (p<0.01) and showed significant decrease of TNF-α level as compared as the level by the positive control Glycyrrhiza glabra acetone extract (Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice, DGL) treatment (p<0.05). Additionally, the treatment of a combined mixture of HP7 including GGE and PFE decreased gastric inflammation and mucosal lesions in the stomach of H. pylori-infected mice. These results demonstrate that he treatment of a combined mixture of HP7 including GGE and PFE treatment can inhibit H. pylori growth and is thus a promising treatment for patients with gastric symptoms such as gastritis that are caused by H. pylori infection.

Mycoplasma (M.) felis and M. canis is related with pneumonia or conjunctivitis in domestic cats and several diseases in a variety of other animals, including lower respiratory tract disease or pleuritis. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays has been reported as an easy and useful method. It could be conducted even on nasal swab samples as a non-invasive rapid testing tools for large numbers of Mycoplasma species. However, PCR assays have to conduct multiple assays because of a lot of Mycoplasma species. Therefore, it need to perform several tests and reveal time consuming procedures. In this study, we developed a sensitive and specific multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that detects simultaneously two species like as M. felis and M. canis. The simultaneous detection of M. felis and M. canis primers were used to differentiate two mycoplasma species. The target DNA fragments were specifically amplified M. felis and M. canis PCR with 16S ribosomal DNA primers. Single and mixed Mycoplasma species DNA templates were submitted to validate the specificity of the multiplex PCR. The corresponding specific DNA products were amplified for each pathogen. The detection limit of the developed multiplex PCR is 102 pg with M. felis and M. canis DNA. Furthermore, the developed multiplex PCR detected successfully M. felis in feline nasal specimens. The multiplex PCR assay provides a novel tool for simultaneous detection and differentiation of M. felis and M. canis in cats.

Infection with Helicobacter pylori leads to gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. Moreover, when the gastric mucosa is exposed to H. pylori, gastric mucosal inflammatory cytokine interleukin-8 (IL-8) and reactive oxygen (ROS) species increase. Tribulus terrestris L. is an annual creeping herb of the family Zygophyllaceae. In this study, the effect of Tribulus terrestris L. fruits extract (TTE) extract on H. pylori-infected human gastric epithelial cells was examined. Cell viability was determined by the tetrazolium salt reduction method using WST-1 according to the manufacturer's instructions. AGS cells were pretreated with TTE extract for 24 hrs followed by H. pylori infection for up to 24 hrs. IL-8 secretion in AGS cells was measured by ELISA. The extract yield of the fruits of Tribulus terrestris with 50% ethanol was 20.60%. We analyzed TFE composition by LC. The concentration of Protodioscin in TFE was 310 μg/mL. It was confirmed that exposure to 100 μg/mL of TTE had no significant effect on cell proliferation at the concentrations examined (12.5–200 μg/mL). It was therefore concluded that TTE at these concentrations had no cytotoxic effects on AGS cells and could be used in this study. Pretreatment of H. pylori-infected AGS cells with 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 μg/mL of TTE for 24 hrs significantly decreased IL-8 production by 12.5%, 25%, 27.5% and 50%, respectively, compared to H. pylori-infected cells without TTE. In this study, we found that TTE inhibited H. pylori-induced IL-8 secretion, thus augmenting their benefit in regard to protection of gastric epithelial cells. This study suggests that ingestion of these plant extracts could have therapeutic implications for patients with H. pylori induced gastritis and duodenal ulcer.

Hyperlipidemia has been ranked as one of the greatest risk factors contributing to the prevalence and severity of coronary heart diseases. The pharmacological actions of tangerine (Citrus unshiu) peel include the facilitation of fat digestive enzymes. Also, guarana (Paullinia cupana) has been used for stimulants and tonics over a long period. In this study, we aimed to optimize the mixed ratio of organic tangerine peel and guarana extracts to suppress fat accumulation. To determine the optimized the mixed ratio of tangerine (Citrus unshiu) peel extract (C) and guarana (Paullinia cupana) extract (P) on adipogenesis, maturing preadipocytes were incubated during the 8-day induction period with various ratio of the mixed extracts groups like as Vehicle (DMEM 200 μl/ml), Con (MDI DMEM 200 μl/ml), C10 (MDI DMEM 180μl/ml+C 20 μl/ml), C9:P1 (MDI DMEM 180 μl/ml+C 18 μl/ml+P 2 μl/ml), C5:P5 (MDI DMEM 180 μl/ml+C 10 μl/ml+P 10 μl/ ml), P10 (MDI DMEM 180 μl/ml+P 20 μl/ml). Thereafter, the adipocytes were stained with Oil-Red-O and analyzed for lipid contents. As the results, organic tangerine peel and guarana extracts were revealed to reduce fat accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. The fat accumulation significantly decreased in C5:P5 group, which is equally mixed with organic tangerine peel and guarana extracts, as compared to other groups. Based on these results, we found the optimized ratio with organic tangerine peel and guarana extracts to suppress fat accumulation. We suggest that this optimized organic tangerine peel and guarana complex might reduce effectively the serum lipid components and improve the lipid metabolism in hyperlipidemic patient.

Canine herpesvirus (CHV) is a member of the alphaherpesvirus subfamily, which can cause severe hemorrhagic diseases in neonatal pups as well as mild or subclinical respiratory infections in adult dogs. We examined the effects of cold stress on disease progression of CHV, an alphaherpesvirus, in neonatal puppies. Eight puppies were challenged intranasally with CHV suspension and divided into a cold stress treatment group and a hyperthermal group. Four pups were left uninoculated as controls and divided into cold and hyperthermal groups. In the challenged cold treatment group, all pups showed CHV-related disease within 5 days; pathological changes were observed in organs of puppies showing clinical symptoms. Grossly, numerous petechial red foci were scattered throughout lungs, kidneys, livers, and intestines of all CHV-infected puppies exposed to cold stress. Most puppies showed typical clinical signs and macroscopic lesions, and CHV infection was confirmed by isolation of the virus. However, in the challenged hyperthermal group, only one of the pups showed mild symptoms of CHV-induced disease. None of the puppies in the uninoculated group showed abnormal signs, although they were exposed to cold stress. These findings indicate that cold stress can cause rapid disease progression of CHV, an alphaherpesvirus.