Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oil and Oleoresins of Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) Fruits

Essential oil and oleoresins (ethanol, ethyl acetate, and iso-propyl alcohol) of Myristica fragrans were extracted by using Clevenger and Soxhlet apparatus, respectively. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of essential oil showed the presence of 38 components representing about 99.6% of the total weight. Sabinene (29.4%) was found to be a major component along with beta pinene (10.6%), alpha pinene (10.1%), terpene-4-ol (9.6%), and several other minor components. The major component of all oleoresins contained elemicin. It has been observed that the essential oil and ethanol oleoresin showed better activity compared to other tested oleoresins and synthetic antioxidants, butylated hydroxyl anisole and butylated hydroxyl toluene. Furthermore, the activity of essential oil and oleoresins was measured for the inhibition of primary and secondary oxidation products in mustard oil by using peroxide, thiobarbituric acid, and p-anisidine values. In addition, these experiments were further supported by other complementary antioxidant assays, such as ferric thiocyanate method in a linoleic acid system, reducing power, chelating effect, and scavenging effects on 1,1′-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical. Hence, the essential oil and ethanol oleoresin of M. fragrans could be considered as a natural food preservative.     

Occurrence and spread of antibiotic resistances in Enterococcus faecium

Enterococci are the second to third most important bacterial genus in hospital infections. Especially Enterococcus (E.) faecium possesses a broad spectrum of natural and acquired antibiotic resistances which are presented in detail in this paper. From medical point of view, the transferable resistances to glycopeptides (e.g., vancomycin, VAN, or teicoplanin, TPL) and streptogramins (e.g., quinupristin/dalfopristin, Q/D) in enterococci are of special interest. The VanA type of enterococcal glycopeptide resistance is the most important one (VAN-r, TPL-r); its main reservoir is E. faecium. Glycopeptide-resistant E. faecium (GREF) can be found in hospitals and outside of them, namely in European commercial animal husbandry in which the glycopeptide avoparcin (AVO) was used as growth promoter in the past. There are identical types of the vanA gene clusters in enterococci from different ecological origins (faecal samples of animals, animal feed, patients in hospitals, persons in the community, waste water samples). Obviously, across the food chain (by GREF-contaminated meat products), these multiple-resistant bacteria or their vanA gene clusters can reach humans. In hospital infections, widespread epidemic-virulent E. faecium isolates of the same clone with or without glycopeptide resistance can occur; these strains often harbour different plasmids and the esp gene. This indicates that hospital-adapted epidemic-virulent E. faecium strains have picked up the vanA gene cluster after they were already widely spread. The streptogramin virginiamycin was also used as feed additive in commercial animal husbandry in Europe for more than 20 years, and it created reservoirs for streptogramin-resistant E. faecium (SREF). In 1998/1999, SREF could be isolated in Germany from waste water of sewage treatment plants, from faecal samples and meat products of animals that were fed virginiamycin (cross resistance to Q/D), from stools of humans in the community, and from clinical samples. These isolations of SREF occurred in a time before the streptogramin combination Q/D was introduced for therapeutic purposes in German hospitals in May 2000, while other streptogramins were not used in German clinics. This seems to indicate that the origin of these SREF or their streptogramin resistance gene(s) originated from other sources outside the hospitals, probably from commercial animal husbandry. In order to prevent the dissemination of multiple antibiotic-resistant enterococci or their transferable resistance genes, a prudent use of antibiotics is necessary in human and veterinary medicine, and in animal husbandry.     

Novel nano-composite biomimetic biomaterial allows chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow concentrate derived cells

In clinical orthopedics suitable materials that induce and restore biological functions together with the right mechanical properties are particularly needed for the regeneration of osteochondral lesions. For this purpose, the ideal scaffold should possess the right properties with respect to degradation, cell binding, cellular uptake, non-immunogenicity, mechanical strength, and flexibility. In addition, it should be easy to handle and serve as a template for chondrocyte and bone cells guiding both cartilage and bone formation. The aim of the present study was to estimate the chondrogenic and osteogenic capability of bone marrow concentrated derived cells seeded onto a novel nano-composite biomimetic material. These properties have been evaluated by means of histological, immunohistochemical and electron microscopy analyses. The data obtained demonstrated that freshly harvested cells obtained from bone marrow were able, once seeded onto the biomaterial, to differentiate either down the chondrogenic and osteogenic pathways as evaluated by the expression and production of specific matrix molecules. These findings support the use, for the repair of osteochondral lesions, of this new nano-composite biomimetic material together with bone marrow derived cells in a “one step” transplantation procedure.