BACKGROUND The detection of Aspergillus spp. in endotracheal aspirate cultures of mechanically ventilated patients may reflect either colonization or infection. However, little is known about the prevalence and the impact on outcome of respiratory tract sample positive for Aspergillus during the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). METHODS We conducted a monocentric, retrospective stud...

Fungi are known to produce a vast array of secondary metabolites that are gaining importance for their biotechnological applications. In the present study, the crude methanolic extracts of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus var. columinaris were tested by the disc diffusion method and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination for detection of antimicrobial activity against ten ...

Antimicrobial activity of 25, 50, 75 and 100% alcohol extract of Piper nigrum (Black Pepper), Psidium guajava (Guava), Amomum cardamom (Cardamom) and Cynogen dactylon (Bermuda grass) has been evaluated against Pseudomonas lundensis, Bacillus cereus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Psidium guajava extract showed excellent antimicrobial activity against all the test organisms. In 25% co...

Objectives: Although molecular methods continue to improve and become more rapidly available, microscopy and culture remain commonly used and essential tools for identification of Aspergillus spp. In this study we emphasize on morphological methods including; macroscopic and microscopic characteristics for identification of Aspergillus species isolated from environmental and clinical specimens....

Aflatoxin contaminates foods including peanuts. Aflatoxin is a carcinogenic toxin mainly produced bty Aspergillus flavus. Other Aspergillus species that rarely produce aflatoxins are A. nomius and A. niger. Aflatoxin is associated with liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and death. Recent studies have shown that peanuts in Kenya are highly contaminated with aflatoxins but information ...

Stonebrood is a disease of honey bee larvae caused by fungi from the genus Aspergillus. As very few studies have focused on the epidemiological aspects of stonebrood and diseased brood may be rapidly discarded by worker bees, it is possible that a high number of cases go undetected. Aspergillus spp. fungi are ubiquitous and associated with disease in many insects, plants, animals and man. They ...

The occurrence of moulds and aflatoxins in groundnut kernels are of great concern to food processors and consumers because of their ability to cause spoilage resulting to economic losses and public health problem such as aflatoxicosis. This study was aimed at determining the presence of Aspergillus species and aflatoxin levels in fresh harvested and stored groundnuts kernels from non-mechanized...

The Aspergillus Genome Database (AspGD; http://www.aspgd.org) is a freely available web-based resource that was designed for Aspergillus researchers and is also a valuable source of information for the entire fungal research community. In addition to being a repository and central point of access to genome, transcriptome and polymorphism data, AspGD hosts a comprehensive comparative genomics to...