BACKGROUND Use of essential oils for controlling Candida albicans growth has gained significance due to the resistance acquired by pathogens towards a number of widely-used drugs. The aim of this study was to test the antifungal activity of selected essential oils against Candida albicans in liquid and vapour phase and to determine the chemical composition and mechanism of action of most potent...

Essential oils (EOs) are natural bioactive compounds with antibacterial activity against a variety of microorganisms including phytopathogens. The use EOs and their components as viable therapeutic antibacterials is however greatly compromised by volatile nature, hydrophobicity instability when exposed to environmental physiological factors. Encapsulation these in an appropriate carrier system ...

Though fungi are widely distributed, many fungal infections go unrecognised as fungal diseases are not notifiable like some viral, parasitic and bacterial diseases. In recent years, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of fungal infections specially in those people whose immune system is compromised by aging, HIV infection, organ transplantation or cancer therapy (Kannan et al., 2...

The present study sought to determine whether elevated plasma free fatty acids (FFAs) alter the splanchnic and muscle glucose metabolism in women. To do so, FFAs were increased in seven women by an 8-h Intralipid/heparin (IL/hep) infusion, and the results were compared with those observed in nine women who were infused with glycerol alone. Glucose was clamped at approximately 8.3 mmol/l and ins...

The present study was designed to examine the effects of Lactobacillus plantaraum and L. paracasei on the growth and aflatoxin-producing ability of Aspergillus parasiticus. In these experiments, direct and indirect interactions of two different probiotic lactobacilli with A. parasiticus was examined.A co-culture system which supported both fungal growth and probiotic bacteria showed the inhibit...

Motivated by the potential use of catalytic materials in micro-combustor application, the primary scope of this study is to investigate the lean extinction characteristics of premixed flames in the presence of catalytic reaction. In particular, the effects of mixture dilution on the lean flammability limit are examined by adopting a stagnation-point flow system with a methane/air mixture over a...

Sperm activation in the polychaete annelid Arenicola marina was investigated using video microscopy following the in vitro and in vivo manipulation of gametes. Careful observation of spermatozoa obtained from spawning animals indicated that they were immotile immediately after their release from the gonopores, but that they subsequently became motile following dilution in sea water. It was dete...