MICROBIOLOGICAL AND TREATMENT STUDIES OF OVINE FOOTROT INFECTION IN MOSUL AREA

It emerges from bacteriological study that it is possible to isolate many bacterial types and yeasts from the lesions of footrot infection in sheep. Anaerobic cultivation came out with the isolation of Spherophorus spp. (24%), Bacteroides spp. (60%), Corynebacterium spp. (64%), Enterobacteracae (76%), Streptococcus spp. (76%), Staphylococcus spp. (36%), Clostridum sordellii (46%) and Irichosporon cutaneum (4%). On the other hand aerobic cultivation rendered the isolation of Corynebacterium spp. (100%), Entrobacteracae (100%), Staphylococcus spp. (15%), Penicillium spp., Aspergillus fumigatus and Trichosporon cutaneum. Five different drug combinations were studied for their efficacy in the treatment of ovine footrot. Their healing rates were as follows : oxytetracycline (59%), oxytetracyclin with formaline (70.9%), Procaine penicillin and streptomycin (72.5%), Procaine penicillin and streptomycin with formaline dipping (80.76%), Formaline alone (63.8%). All kinds of treatment indicated statistically significant differences to exit between the treated (experimental) and untreated (control) groups

The Survey of Fungal Contamination in the Air Flowing Out of Air Conditioners (Coolers) in a Car

Background: Fungi are among the most important microorganisms in the air. The air conditioner (cooler) in a car can be an important reservoir for infectious agents, especially fungal species. The present study aimed to measure the fungal contamination in the air flowing out of air conditioners. Objective: In this study 138 cars including 69 Iranian-made cars and 69 cars made by foreign companies were examined. Methods: The plating technique was used. In this study, in each car, 2 plates were placed for 5 minutes when the air conditioner was on and also 2 plates were placed for 5 minutes when the air conditioner was off. Results: A total of 2442 colonies were isolated. The most common isolated fungi were Cladosporium spp. (25.55%), Penicillium spp. (6.14%) and Aspergillus niger (3.03%). The highest number of isolated fungal elements was observed in the Iranian-made cars during summer season (P-value<0.05). Furthermore, the growth rate of colonies on the plates placed on the front and rear seats of cars did not vary considerably (P-value > 0.05). Conclusion: Air conditioners of Iranian-made cars can be an important source for fungal transmission to the human respiratory system that is important, especially in susceptible people to allergic diseases and patients with immunodeficiency.

Misconception of consumers and retailers regarding fungal spoilage of onion and prevalence of fungi in rotten onion

Onion is an inevitable part of our food habits. Fungal infection is one of the major reasons of onion spoilage which not only cause economic losses but also may cause public health threat through mycoses and mycotoxicoses. A total 15 onion samples from different places in Chattagram, Bangladesh were collected to assess the fungal contaminants.Onion consumers along with retailers were interviewed to evaluate their awareness about fungal food spoilage and associated health risk. Three different fungal species were identified and isolated by analysing their macroscopic and microscopic features. These isolates were Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Penicillium spp. A. niger was the most prevalent and found in 14 samples out of 15. Biochemical characterization of the isolated fungi was also done to assess their ability to produce extracellular enzymes and amylase, protease, and cellulase activities were observed. Survey data showed that only around 20% of the interviewees had some idea about fungal contamination, while nearly about 80% of them believed that washing, sunburn and cooking can make the food safe. Bioresearch Commu. 8(1): 1068-1076, 2022 (January)

The impact of mycotoxins on dairy cow health and milk production

В статье представлены материалы о влиянии микотоксинов на здоровье и продуктивность молочного скота. В настоящее время наибольшую опасность для здоровья животных представляют яды микроскопических грибов — микотоксины, что требует разработки методов их устранения по всей цепочке — от поля до потребителя. Известно, что споры грибов, продуцирующих токсины, живут в почве и оттуда передаются растениям, а затем зёрнам. Микотоксины — это вторичные метаболиты грибов, такие как афлатоксины (AF), продуцируемые видами Aspergillus, фумонизины (FUM), зеараленон (ZEN), токсин T-2 (T-2) дезоксиниваленол (DON), продуцируемый видами Fusarium, охратоксин A (OTA), продуцируемый видами Penicillium, и многие другие. Потребление кормов, загрязнённых этими токсинами, вызывает у животных микотоксикозы, которые характеризуются рядом клинических признаков в зависимости от вида токсинов. У животных снижается продуктивность и поедаемость кормов, увеличивается восприимчивость к различным заболеваниям. Существует две формы микотоксикозов: острые микотоксикозы, возникающие из-за потребления высокой разовой дозы микотоксинов, и хронические микотоксикозы из-за постоянного потребления низких уровней микотоксинов в течение продолжительного времени. Хронический токсикоз, вызванный низким уровнем воздействия микотоксинов в течение продолжительного времени, представляет собой более распространённую проблему для здоровья животных и качества пищевых продуктов для людей. В целом объёмистые корма и зерновые компоненты, входящие в состав рациона, подвержены загрязнению афлатоксинами на всех этапах производства кормов, таких как сбор, транспортировка, хранение, переработка и упаковка. В последнее время учёные стали уделять больше внимания загрязнению кормов микотоксинами и механизмам борьбы с разными группами токсинов. Основной задачей при производстве кормов является снижение концентрации токсинов на всех этапах — от поля до рациона животных. This article focuses on the effect of mycotoxins on dairy cow health and productivity. To this day toxins produced by various fungi are one of the most serious dangers for cattle. It is known that spores usually contaminate plant and later grain material from soil. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites such as aflatoxins (AF) produced by Aspergillus spp., fumonisins (FUM), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2 (T-2), deoxynivalenol (DON) produced by Fusarium spp., ochratoxin A (OTA) produced by Penicillium spp., and many others. Toxin-contaminated forage causes mycotoxicoses of different severity depending on toxin type. Livestock shows low productivity and appetite but high susceptibility to diseases There are two types of mycotoxicoses: acute mycotoxicoses, caused by high concentration of toxins and the chronic ones, occurring due to constant long consumption of low toxin levels. Chronic toxicosis is a more common problem for animal health and food quality. Bulk and grain feed are highly affected by aflatoxins at such production stages as harvesting, transporting, storage, processing and packaging. Lately scientists drew more attention to toxin contamination issue and methods controlling their accumulation. The main task when producing forage is to reduce toxin concentration at all the production stages.

Incidence, Speciation, and Morpho-Genetic Diversity of Penicillium spp. Causing Blue Mold of Stored Pome Fruits in Serbia

Blue mold, caused by Penicillium spp., is one of the most economically important postharvest diseases of pome fruits, globally. Pome fruits, in particular apple, is the most widely grown pome fruit in Serbia, and the distribution of Penicillium spp. responsible for postharvest decay is unknown. A two-year survey was conducted in 2014 and 2015, where four pome fruits (apple, pear, quince, and medlar) with blue mold symptoms were collected from 20 storage locations throughout Serbia. Detailed morphological characterization, analysis of virulence in three apple cultivars, and multilocus phylogeny revealed three main Penicillium spp. in order of abundance: P. expansum, P. crustosum, and P. solitum. Interestingly, P. expansum split into two distinct clades with strong statistical support that coincided with several morphological observations. Findings from this study are significant and showed previously undocumented diversity in blue mold fungi responsible for postharvest decay including the first finding of P. crustosum, and P. solitum as postharvest pathogens of quince and P. crustosum of medlar fruit in the world, and P. expansum of quince in Serbia. Data from this study provide timely information regarding phenotypic, morphological and genotypic plasticity in P. expansum that will impact the design of species-specific detection tools and guide the development of blue mold management strategies.

EFFECT OF CHITOSAN PRETREATMENT ON THE QUALITY OF STRAWBERRIES DURING COLD STORAGE

The paper is focused on improving the technology of storing strawberries. It has been investigated how pretreatment of berries with aqueous solutions of low-molecular-weight chitosan of three concentrations (0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5%) affects the quality parameters of strawberries during refrigeration. The treated berries and the reference (untreated sample) were stored in 500 g perforated plastic containers at 0±2°C for 14 days. It has been found that strawberries treated with chitosan solutions had significantly smaller weight loss than the reference. At the end of storage, this parameter was 9.7% in the reference and 7.0–8.6% in the treated berries. It has been established that the respiration rate of the strawberries decreased sharply on the first day, which was caused by refrigerated storage, and continued to decline until the end of storage. Finally, this parameter attained the value 3.3 mg CO2/kg-1h-1in the reference and 2.2–3.0 mg CO2/kg-1h-1 in the treated berries. The hardness of the strawberries at the end of storage was 0.10–0.14 kg/cm2. The change in the lustre level of the berries has been observed. It has been established that on the 14th day of storage, the surface of the untreated berries was dull. The best characteristics have been observed for treatment at the chitosan concentration 0.5%. The effect of chitosan films on the sensory characteristics of berries has been investigated. It has been found that the pretreatment did not impair the taste of the berries. The results of the tasting evaluation indicate that the taste, aroma, and colour were better in the variants with the treatment concentrations 0.3 and 0.5%. However, as for the appearance and consistency, the experts preferred the berries treated at the concentration 0.5%. After two weeks’ storage, the strawberries have been found to be damaged by four fungal diseases. The infections found in the samples were Botrytis cinerea (grey mould), Rhizopus stolonifer (black mould), Whetzelinia sclerotiorum (white mould), and Penicillium spp. It has been established that pretreatment of strawberries with chitosan solutions reduces the development of phytopathogenic diseases. It has been shown that chitosan-based edible coatings have a positive effect on strawberries, increasing their shelf life and improving their quality. A conclusion has been drawn about the technology of application of chitosan solutions and about their concentrations.

Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of Haematostaphis barteri

The aim of this work was to carry out the phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activities of Haematostaphis barteri. The method of cold maceration was used in the extraction by serial exhaustive extraction method which involves successive extraction with solvents of increasing polarity from a non-polar (hexane) to a more polar solvent (methanol) to ensure that a wide polarity range of compound could be extracted. The results showed that flavonoids, terpenes, terpenes, tannins, and saponins are present in all the leaf extracts. The result of the antimicrobial activity obtained from the extracts of the leaf of Haematostaphis barteri revealed that all the crude extracts of the leaf inhibited or exhibited antibacterial activity against Salmonella paratyphi, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Penicillium spp. All the extracts did demonstrate antimicrobial activity against Aspergillus niger. The plant H. barteri is commonly used traditionally for the treatment of diarrhoea, wound, headache, malaria, dysentery and fevers. The overall results confirm the significance of the use of the plant in traditional medicinal treatment of diarrhea, wound, headache, malaria, dysentery and fevers, in line with reported claims.

FUNGAL COMPOSITION AND PROXIMATE ANALYSIS OF POULTRY FEEDS SOLD IN BENIN CITY, NIGERIA

Poultry farming contributes significantly to poverty alleviation by providing employment opportunities to Nigerians. Feed quality is the most prominent challenge of the poultry sector. This study was aimed at assessing the fungal and proximate qualities of poultry feeds sold in Benin City, Nigeria. Poultry feed samples (starter, grower and finisher) were obtained from five stores in Benin City. Enumeration and isolation of fungi was carried out using the spread plate method on potato dextrose agar and Aspergillus flavus and parasiticus agar (AFPA). Identification of fungal isolates was based on cultural and morphological characteristics. Proximate composition was determined by standard methods. The total fungal counts of starter, grower and finisher feeds ranged from 0.10 – 8.50 x 105 sfu/g. Fungal species isolated were Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium spp., Saccharomyces spp., Trichoderma spp., Rhizopus spp. and Mucor spp. The results from proximate analysis were as follows: 36.50±0.92 - 70.92±0.51% (protein), 3.53±0.04 - 8.45±0.16% (fibre), 11.61±0.72 - 13.91±0.27% (fat), 2.70 - 8.60% (moisture content) and 3.65 - 37.83% (carbohydrate). The temperature and relative humidity of storage ranged from 33.90oC - 35.20oC and 69% - 75% respectively. Results showed that poultry feeds sampled have diverse fungi present in them. Control measures should be adhered to in poultry industries and stores to prevent microbial contamination.

Occurrence and Characterization of Penicillium Species Isolated from Post-Harvest Apples in Lebanon

The apple is one of the most important fruit tree crops in the Mediterranean region. Lebanon, in particular, is among the top apple producer countries in the Middle East; however, recently, several types of damage, particularly rot symptoms, have been detected on fruits in cold storage. This study aims to identify the causal agents of apple decay in Lebanese post-harvest facilities and characterize a set of 39 representative strains of the toxigenic fungus Penicillium. The results demonstrated that blue mould was the most frequent fungal disease associated with apples showing symptoms of decay after 3–4 months of storage at 0 °C, with an average frequency of 76.5% and 80.6% on cv. Red and cv. Golden Delicious apples, respectively. The morphological identification and phylogenetic analysis of benA gene showed that most Penicillium strains (87.2%) belong to P. expansum species whereas the remaining strains (12.8%) belong to P. solitum. Furthermore, 67.7% of P. expansum strains produced patulin when grown on apple puree for 14 days at 25 °C with values ranging from 10.7 mg kg−1 to 125.9 mg kg−1, whereas all P. solitum did not produce the mycotoxin. This study highlights the presence of Penicillium spp. and their related mycotoxin risk during apple storage and calls for the implementation of proper measures to decrease the risk of mycotoxin contamination of apple fruit products.