THE FORMATION OF SEMI-TRANSPARENT MEMBRANES FROM CULTURES OF SLIME-PRODUCING MICROORGANISMS THIS article presents a brief description of a procedure developed at this laboratory for the successful production of semi-transparent sheets resembling parchment from cultures of slime-forming microorganisms. The investigations of Beijerinck' and Harrison2 have made important contributions to fundament...

Acetic acid, in vinegar, is one of the most anciently used preservatives. Its toxicity to bacteria and to fungi has been recognized. Wolf and Shunk (^6) ^ found that it was more toxic to the six species of bacteria investigated by them than was hydrochloric, sulphuric, citric, tartaric, malic^ or formic acids. In the experiments of Bitting (4) acetic acid was as toxic to fungi as benzoic, boric...

in this research,for taxonomic studies and identification of the fungi associated with the powdery mildew(oidium euonymi- japonici) of buxus trees (euonymus japonica), the infected leaves were collected during autumn and winter 2012-2013 in gorgan (golestan province -iran). the samples after washing and surface sterilizing, were cultured on pda medium(with boxwood extract).then based on availab...

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common disorder in middle-aged women and the elderly population. Although surgical treatment of SUI has progressed, pharmacological therapies remain unelucidated. We screened potential herbal medicines against SUI with an ex vivo organ bath assay. Ramulus Cinnamomi and its major constituent cinnamaldehyde cause a high contractile force of the urethra and a...

Lingguizhugan decoction, a classic traditional Chinese medicine formula, has been used to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), however, the underlying mechanisms remains unclear. In the present study, we compared the phenotype of the normal rats (fed with chow diet), high-fat-diet (HFD) induced NAFLD rats and Lingguizhugan decoction (LGZG, comprises four Chinese herbs: Poria, Ramulu...

Lung cancer has long been one of the most deadly forms of cancer. The majority of lung cancers are of the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) type. Here we used the non-small-cell lung carcinoma cell line A549 to screen 15 different traditional Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) formulae to explore the possible mechanisms of alternative medicine in lung cancer therapy. We identified three formulae (F...

Contraction of vascular smooth muscle cells depends on the induction of cytosolic calcium ion (Ca(2+)) due to either Ca(2+) influx through voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels or to receptor-mediated Ca(2+) release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The present study investigated the vasorelaxation effect of Cinnamomi ramulus ethanol extract (CRE) and the possible mechanisms in rat aorta. CRE (0.1 mg/mL...

Guizhi decoction (GZD), a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription consisting of Ramulus Cinnamomi, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Radix Glycyrrhizae, Fructus Jujubae and Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, is usually used for the treatment of common colds, influenza, and other pyretic conditions in the clinic. However, the absorbed ingredients and metabolic compounds of GZD have not been report...

Abscisic acid (ABA) plays an important role as a plant hormone and as such is involved in many different steps of plant development. It has also been shown to modulate plant responses to abiotic stress situations and in recent years, it has become evident that it is partaking in processes of plant defence against pathogens. Although ABA’s role in influencing the outcome of plant-pathogen intera...