BACKGROUND Probiotics are live microorganisms, generally either lactobacilli or bifidobacteria, which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit to the host [1]. Due to the growing evidence of health benefits associated with their use, probiotics are of increasing interest and represent now a significant growth area in the functional foods industry [2]. However, to be effecti...

Campylobacter blood agar with clindamycin incubated in 6% CO2 served as a medium to both screen for vancomycin resistance and select for presumptive enterococci. Colonies that grew on the medium were specifically identified as enterococci within 30 min by the pyroglutamyl-beta-naphthylamide and rapid bile esculin tests. The combination of a selective medium plus rapid enzyme substrate tests off...

Canine intestinal lactic acid bacterium (LAB) population in four fistulated dogs was cultured and enumerated using MRS agar. LAB levels ranging from 1.4x10(6) to 1.5x10(7) CFU ml(-1) were obtained in jejunal chyme. In the fecal samples 7.0x10(7) and 2.0x10(8) CFU g(-1) were detected. Thirty randomly selected isolates growing in the highest sample dilutions were identified to species level using...

BACKGROUND Hepatic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels are an accurate reflection of functioning hepatic mass following surgical resections and acute liver injury. OBJECTIVE To determine whether hepatic ATP levels can serve as a non-invasive means of documenting progression of chronic liver disease to cirrhosis. METHODS In vivo phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((31)P MRS) was p...

The aim of the study was to investigate the occurence and species distribution of methicillin resistant staphylococci (MRS) in the nasal cavity of dogs. Nasal swabs were collected from 162 dogs entering private veterinary clinics in Hatay. Methicillin resistance was detected onto mannitol salt agar containing 2 μg/ml oxacillin and confirmed by mecA Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Bacterial ide...

Vibrio cholerae can shift to a rugose colony phenotype, reflecting expression of an exopolysaccharide that provides protection against a variety of environmental stresses. Our data indicate that expression of the rugose phenotype is inhibited by a variety of sugars, including sucrose, dextrose, arabinose, fructose, and maltose. Inhibition by sucrose may be one factor in explaining the failure o...

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity at the extremes of age. With increasing antibiotic resistance, its accurate early identification is important for initial management [1]. Its identification in clinical laboratories relies on colony morphology, α-haemolysis on blood agar, and optochin susceptibility. The bile solubility test, although simpl...

The effect of Monascus purpureus extract (MPE) on probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was investigated to ascertain its application in fermented foods. Viable count of LAB was not affected after 24 hours of incubation in Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) broth containing MPE. The agar well-diffusion assay did not show any inhibition zone. The biotransformation of isoflavone glycosides by LAB in culture ...

Screening for pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus has become routine in certain areas associated with food-borne outbreaks. This study is an evaluation of the CHROMagar Vibrio (CV) medium-PCR protocol and the conventional method (TCBS (thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose) agar plus biochemical and Wagatsuma agar tests) for detection of V. parahaemolyticus in shrimp, water, sediment, and stool...