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Bovine tuberculosis is an important global zoonosis. The causative agent of the disease is Mycobacterium bovis, belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. This study aimed to identify vertical transmission of Mycobacterium bovis in tuberculin positive pregnant dairy cows referred to the slaughterhouse and commercial sperm used to inseminate them in Gonbad, Gorgan province, Iran, by PCR assay. From March to September 2016, one thousand and seven hundred artificially inseminated cows were subjected to the tuberculin test; then, tuberculin positive cows were referred to the Gonbad slaughterhouse. Samples containing milk, lymph node, placenta, foetal abomasal fluid, and amniotic fluid were prepared from all affected cows and stored at -80 °C until analysis. Bacterial DNA was extracted from all specimens by a commercial kit. Detection was performed by amplifying pncATB gene using special primers via the polymerase chain reaction method. Results of tuberculin test revealed 144 positive cases (8.47%). PCR results for 48 milk samples, 120 biopsy samples, 63 samples of foetuses showed 9, 93 and 43 positive cases, respectively which all belonged to tuberculin positive samples. No positive sperm samples were identified. It was concluded that the infection rate with M. bovis in Montbéliarde cattle was high and also, that vertical transmission was not seen.

Garden thyme is an aromatic plant with various applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and hygienic-cosmetic industries around the world. In this research, field-cultivated plants were harvested in two cuts and three consecutive stages (pre-flowering, flowering, and post-flowering). The essential oil percentage and compositions were identified in the essential oil samples. The antibacterial activity of the essential oil was measured against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The antioxidant activity, total phenol and flavonoid contents, chain-breaking activity, and IC50 were recorded. The highest essential oil percentage (2.56%) was obtained from the pre-flowering stage. The results of GC/MS revealed that p-cymene, γ-terpinene, thymol, and carvacrol were the most important constituents of the studied essential oil. The lowest antibacterial activity was recorded by the second cut at the pre-flowering stage. The highest antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus were recorded by the second cut during the flowering stage and the first cut during the flowering stage, respectively. The lowest MIC was 15.75 μg mL-1 related to the second cut during the flowering stage. The plants had the highest total phenol (16.64 mg GAE g-1 DM) and total flavonoid contents (2.88 mg QE g-1 DM) at the pre-flowering stage. The highest antioxidant activity (IC50 = 134.05 μg mL-1) was observed at the pre-flowering stage. It can be said that phenological stages and cuts can affect essential oil antibacterial and antioxidant activities, as well as its chemical characteristics.

Context Deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination of feedstuffs causes detrimental effects on animals and poultry. Dietary inclusion of microbial feed additives, such as probiotics and/or yeast, seems to be a useful approach for DON detoxification and reducing the toxin absorption from the gut. Aims This study was conducted to evaluate the synergetic effects of a probiotic (Lactobacillus spp.), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and mycotoxin detoxifier on performance, serum chemical parameters and immune status of broiler chickens fed a DON-contaminated diet. Methods A total of 200 1-day-old female broilers (Hubbard®) were allocated to five dietary treatments with four replicates each in a completely randomised design. Experimental diets consisted of: (1) control diet (basal diet), (2) DON diet (basal diet contaminated with 10 mg/kg DON), (3) DON diet supplemented with 0.25% mycotoxin detoxifier (Mycofix® Plus), (4) DON diet supplemented with a combination of 0.4 g/kg probiotic and 1.5 g/kg yeast, and (5) DON diet supplemented with a combination of a probiotic, yeast and mycotoxin detoxifier. Key results The results showed that the DON diet significantly increased the feed conversion ratio compared with mycotoxin detoxifier and control diets. Administration of 0.4 g/kg probiotic along with 1.5 g/kg yeast to a DON-contaminated diet caused a significant enhancement of dressing percentage, leg relative weight and aspartate aminotransferase enzyme activity. The DON-contaminated diet reduced total protein, albumin, triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations, but consumption of a probiotic, yeast and mycotoxin detoxifier improved the levels of these parameters. The DON-treated birds showed a reduction in haematocrit, haemoglobin, red blood cells and blood lymphocyte percentage in comparison with control levels. The inclusion of a combination of a probiotic and yeast along with mycotoxin detoxifier diminished the increased heterophil: lymphocyte ratio by DON administration. The antibody titre against Newcastle disease virus vaccine increased by inclusion of a probiotic, yeast and Mycofix. Conclusions In summary, a combination of a probiotic and yeast along with mycotoxin detoxifier can improve the enzyme activity, immunity and haematological attributes, which are useful for DON-contaminated diet detoxification. Implications Dietary supplementation with a probiotic, yeast and mycotoxin detoxifier could be used as an alternative to detoxification DON in broiler chickens.

Background: Bacteriocins are heterogeneous inhibitory substances that could affect the bacteria belonging to the same genus. Both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria produce bacteriocins. One of the best sources of producing bacteriocins is Lactobacillus. The aim of this study was to isolate and purify bacteriocin from Lactobacillus rhamnosus and assess its effects on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and synthesis of its lipopolysaccharide. Methods: L. rhamnosus was prepared and cultured at MRS broth and incubated at 37ºC for 24 hours. Then, the medium was centrifuged for the isolation of bacteriocin and the supernatant was considered as bacteriocin. Antibacterial properties of different concentrations of bacteriocin (50, 100, 200, and 400 μg/mL) against P. aeruginosa were assayed by using agar diffusion and broth micro dilution methods. Also, the effect of bacteriocin against lipopolysaccharide synthesis in P. aeruginosa was analyzed by using one unit of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for bacteriocin. Results: The results showed that all bacteriocin concentrations had antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa. The MIC value was 31.25 μg/mL and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) was 62.5 μg/mL. Also, the synthesis of lipopolysaccharide decreased during P. aeruginosa growth period, and it reached zero after 5 hours. Conclusions: The results of this study showed the antibacterial effect of bacteriocin isolated from L. rhamnosus against P. aeruginosa. In addition, this bacteriocin prevented the lipopolysaccharide synthesis in P. aeruginosa.

The bile salt hydrolysis (BSH) enzyme weakens fat metabolism through bile salt deconjugation and reduces poultry performance, in order to cope with the antibacterial properties of the bile. Therefore, reducing the activity of this enzyme through the use of feed additives is probably a promising alternative to antibiotics for improving poultry performance. Plant extracts have long been used as feed additives for promoting poultry growth. In the current experiment, five Lactobacillus strains including Lactobacillus animalis, Lactobacillus acidophillus, Lactobacillus gallinarum, Lactobacillus lactis, and Lactobacillus returi were obtained from the poultry hindgut and were used as the probiotic application. A plate test and two-step enzymatic reaction method were used for deconjugation activity determination of the Lactobacillus strains. Further, four plant extracts (i.e., the aerial parts of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Roselle calyx (Hibiscus sabdariffa), Berberis vulgaris root, and Green tea) were examined in terms of BSH enzyme inhibitors using the cell-free extracts as the potential antibiotic alternative. Furthermore, the gallbladders of the broilers were freshly collected from the poultry slaughterhouses, and their contents were extracted. The results showed that all Lactobacillus strains could hydrolyze the taurocholate acid (TCA) and chicken bile salt mixture (CBSM) to unconjugated bile acid. Moreover, ethanolic extracts of B. vulgaris root and Green tea relatively reduced the activity of the BSH enzyme that could potentially be investigated as an appropriate alternative in poultry feed in vivo. In conclusion, all five Lactobacillus strains were resistant to bile salts (i.e. TCA and CBSM) by BSH activity, and the addition of Green tea and B. vulgaris root extracts to the bacterial medium demonstrated inhibitory effects against the BSH enzyme.

Objective(s): Use of chemical anti-cancer drugs frequently creates serious side effects. However, probiotics are natural and treat different kinds of cancer without undesired effects. Materials and Methods: In this study, a nano delivery system was planned to transport the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (L. GG) cytoplasmic fraction (Cf) to cancerous tissue in a mouse model. Magnetic iron nanoparticles (MINPs) were synthesized and loaded with L. GG-Cf(0, 0.312, 0.625, 1.25, and 2.5 mg/ml) and were administrated for three weeks to treat experimentally induced murine breast cancer in a constant magnetic field. At the end of the trial, the treating efficacy of this complex molecule was evaluated via western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and qPCR. Results: Results showed that MINPS can deliver and accumulate L. GG-Cf in cancer tissue, and reduce the size and volume of the tumors. Additionally, in cancer tissues of treated mice with 2.5 mg/ml of Cf-MINPs, significantly induced apoptosis was seen compared with untreated mice (control), and our data proved that this induction may be due to the caspase-3 pathway. Conclusion: L. GG-Cf could treat murine breast cancer, and MINPs are a suitable candidate for drug delivery because of their safety, uniformity, and magnetic properties.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of different levels of Lactobacillus species and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as a toxin binder in deoxynivalenol (DON) diet on immune parameters, gut morphology and jejunal gene expression in broiler chickens. Three hundred sixty-one-day-old female broilers were assigned into nine treatments with four replicates each in a completely randomised design (3 × 3 factorial arrangement) including three levels of Lactobacillus (0, 0.20 and 0.40 g/kg) and yeast (0, 0.75 and 1.50 g/kg) in DON contaminated diets. The results showed that DON challenged birds showed suppressed spleen relative weight and reduced white blood cell and lymphocyte percentage, while inclusion the highest level of Lactobacillus sp. and yeast to DON diet improved these parameters (p

Brucellosis is a highly contagious bacterial zoonotic infectious disease severely affecting the public health and economic features of endemic and non-endemic countries. The present study assessed ...

Some of the medicinal plants have antibacterial contents and appear to be proper alternatives for antibiotics in the treatment of streptococcal disease, which causes plenty of mortalities in fish farms annually. Therefore, this study investigated the therapeutic effect of Aloe vera and Salvia officinalis hydroethanolic extracts against Streptococcus iniae in rainbow trout. Plant extracts components were analyzed by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method and tested in vitro against S. iniae by disk diffusion assay. In in vivo, 480 rainbow trout (10±0.1 g) were distributed in 9 groups (with 3 replication), and all groups (except for the first group as the negative control that was injected with 100 µl of physiologic serum) were injected by 100 µl of LD50 (3.66×108.5CFU/ml) of S. iniae suspension, intraperitoneally. The fish of groups were treated by A. vera and S. officinalis extracts in doses 0 (positive control group was fed by commercial diet without plant extract), 0.5, 1, and 1.5% (supplemented diet) and 80 mg/kg body weight erythromycin for the next 10 days. At the end of the study period, tissue samples of the gills and livers of all groups were taken for the histopathological lesion assay. The results showed that A. vera and S. officinalis had antibacterial components as Cineol, and S. iniae was sensitive to both A. vera (MBC=4.067 mg/ml) and S. officinalis (MBC=5.185 mg/ml) extracts. At the end of the treatment period, there were no significant differences among erythromycin, A. vera (1.5%), and A. vera (1%) in terms of the mortality of the infected fish (P˂0.05). Moreover, A. vera (1.5%) showed a significantly lower mortality rate, compared to the positive control (P˂0.05). A. vera (1.5%) was the best group to moderate all histopathological lesions, compared to other groups. Accordingly, A. vera (1.5 %) is useful to treat streptococcosis (caused by S. iniae) and alter gill and liver histopathological lesions in rainbow trout.

The black proventriculus is a necropsy finding sign observed during post-mortem examinations of dead young chicks up to 10 days of age and due to variation in color of the affected proventriculus organ, it may be ignored in some cases, in particular when the disease occurs simultaneously with other well-recognized infections of two weeks old chicks. In late January 2018, several live and dead chicks with a history of an unusual increase in mortality showing no clinical signs but sudden dead were referred to the poultry clinic of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran. General routine postmortem examination revealed color changes (light green to dark green color) in the wall of proventriculus together with some degrees of congestion in the lungs and liver of the dead chicks. Microbiology tests revealed that the causative agent was Escherichia coli strain O142 and histopathological examination indicated that the color changing of the organ was due to necrosis of glandular epithelium with locally extensive or diffuse hypercellularity by lymphocytes and macrophages with hemorrhages. In conclusion, black proventriculus due to E. coli strain O142 was responsible for the sudden death of young chicks and based on antibiogram, selective antibiotics should be used for the treatment of the affected flocks.

Garden thyme is an aromatic plant with various applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and hygienic-cosmetic industries around the world. In this research, field-cultivated plants were harvested in two cuts and three consecutive stages (pre-flowering, flowering, and post-flowering). The essential oil percentage and compositions were identified in the essential oil samples. The antibacterial activity of the essential oil was measured against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The antioxidant activity, total phenol and flavonoid contents, chain-breaking activity, and IC50 were recorded. The highest essential oil percentage (2.56%) was obtained from the pre-flowering stage. The results of GC/MS revealed that p-cymene, γ-terpinene, thymol, and carvacrol were the most important constituents of the studied essential oil. The lowest antibacterial activity was recorded by the second cut at the pre-flowering stage. The highest antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus were recorded by the second cut during the flowering stage and the first cut during the flowering stage, respectively. The lowest MIC was 15.75 μg mL-1 related to the second cut during the flowering stage. The plants had the highest total phenol (16.64 mg GAE g-1 DM) and total flavonoid contents (2.88 mg QE g-1 DM) at the pre-flowering stage. The highest antioxidant activity (IC50 = 134.05 μg mL-1) was observed at the pre-flowering stage. It can be said that phenological stages and cuts can affect essential oil antibacterial and antioxidant activities, as well as its chemical characteristics., Bahçe kekiği, dünya çapında ilaç, gıda ve hijyenik-kozmetik endüstrilerinde çeşitli uygulamalara sahip aromatik bir bitkidir. Bu araştırmada, tarlada yetiştirilen bitkiler iki kesimde ve birbirini takip eden üç aşamada (çiçeklenme öncesi, çiçeklenme ve çiçeklenme sonrası) hasat edilmiştir. Uçucu yağ örneklerinde uçucu yağ yüzdesi ve bileşimleri belirlendi. Uçucu yağın antibakteriyel aktivitesi Escherichia coli ve Staphylococcus aureus'a karşı ölçülmüştür. Antioksidan aktivite, toplam fenol ve flavonoid içerikleri, zincir kırma aktivitesi ve IC50 kaydedildi. En yüksek uçucu yağ yüzdesi (%2.56) çiçeklenme öncesi dönemden elde edilmiştir. GC/MS sonuçları, çalışılan uçucu yağın en önemli bileşenlerinin p-cymene, γ-terpinen, timol ve karvakrol olduğunu ortaya koydu. En düşük antibakteriyel aktivite, çiçeklenme öncesi aşamadaki ikinci kesimde kaydedilmiştir. E. coli ve S. aureus'a karşı en yüksek antibakteriyel aktivite, sırasıyla çiçeklenme döneminde ikinci kesimde ve çiçeklenme döneminde ilk kesimde kaydedilmiştir. En düşük MIC, çiçeklenme döneminde ikinci kesime bağlı olarak 15.75 μg mL-1 idi. Bitkiler, çiçeklenme öncesi aşamada en yüksek toplam fenol (16.64 mg GAE g-1 DM) ve toplam flavonoid içeriğine (2.88 mg QE g-1 DM) sahipti. En yüksek antioksidan aktivite (IC50 = 134.05 μg mL-1) çiçeklenme öncesi aşamada gözlenmiştir. Fenolojik aşamaların ve kesimlerin uçucu yağın kimyasal özelliklerinin yanı sıra antibakteriyel ve antioksidan aktivitelerini de etkileyebileceği söylenebilir.

Brucellosis is a highly contagious bacterial zoonotic infectious disease severely affecting the public health and economic features of endemic and non-endemic countries. The present study assessed the potentials of using the touch-down polymerase chain reaction (TD-PCR) compared to the conventional PCR and culture methods in order to detect