Mucus from snakehead fish (Chana striata) and catfish (Clarias batrachus) has the potential to be employed in organic cosmetics and wound healing. The aim of this study is to create antimicrobials from Clarias batrachus and Chana striata mucus that may inhibit the growth of coliform bacteria. It also seeks to establish the minimum inhibitory concentration of Clarias batrachus and Chana striata mucus extracts against the growth of Escherichia coli when cocoa extract is added as an internal ingredient for making face masks and organic lipstick. The content of anthocyanin in cocoa beans used as a natural colouring agent that can replace synthetic dyes. The pooled fish mucus was extracted with succeeding centrifugation and filtration. The acidic mucus extracts were tested for antimicrobial-inhibitory effects and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) by agar-overlay diffusion and plate dilution method, respectively. The results showed that all fish mucus extracts exhibited antimicrobial effects against tested pathogens with catfish exhibiting the highest inhibitory effects against the bacteria sample as compared to the broad-spectrum antibiotic control. Interestingly, their mucus revealed inhibitory effects against bacteria at the lowest concentration (1:4 dilution). The present findings revealed the potential antimicrobial use of freshwater fish mucus against medically-important pathogens
Tofu is a processed soybean food ingredient that is widely consumed by the public. Besides having a high nutritional content, tofu is also relatively cheap and easy to obtain. Tofu has a short shelf life and is easily damaged, so producers often add the preservative formaldehyde, which has been banned for use. Formalin or formaldehyde is not included in the list of food additives because they are toxic and harmful to health. This study was aimed to determine the reduction of formalin levels in white tofu by soaking green chilies. The study was carried out experimentally with the spectrophotometric method using the Schiff reagent. Absorbance measurements were carried out at a maximum wavelength of 580 nm. Parameters observed were the addition of 0% green chili solution concentration 0%; 2.5%; 5.0%; 7.5%; 10%; and 12.5% for 10 minutes of continuous immersion; 20 minutes; and 30 minutes. Based on the results of the study, it was found that each addition of green chili solution concentration reduced the formalin level along with the soaking time. The addition of 12.5% green chili solution for 30 minutes resulted in the greatest decrease in formalin levels, namely 69.82%. Based on these results it was concluded that the addition of green chili solution could reduce formalin in tofu.
The Moringa oleifera can be used as a medium for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases such as diarrhea. Diarrhea can be caused by Escherichia coli, which house flies can transmit. Moringa oleifera leaves have antimicrobial substances such as flavonoids, triterpenoids, steroids, saponins and tannins. This aim of the study was to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration of M. oleifera infusion on the growth of E. coli. This research is a laboratory experiment with Well Diffusion Agar method and dilution technique. The materials used in the study were M. oleifera leaf infusion with concentrations of 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, and 10%, while 0% was a negative control (Aquadest). E. coli isolates were obtained from M. domestica. The results showed that the inhibition zone formed at concentrations of 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, and 0% was 15.55 mm, 13.80 mm, 13.10 mm, 10.10 mm, and 0 mm, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration of leaf infusion against E. coli isolates was 25%, and the minimum bactericidal concentration could not be determined because all concentrations tested showed bacterial growth. Instead, the lowest inhibitory concentration was 25%. In concentrations of 50%, 40%, and 30%, M. oleifera leaf infusion has potent antibacterial action; at concentrations of 20%, it has moderate antimicrobial activity; and at concentrations of 10%, it is unable to inhibit the growth of E. coli. Further research is needed to determine the value of the minimum bactericidal concentration at concentrations above 25%, and it is necessary to test it on other digestive tract pathogenic bacteria.
The existence of refillable drinking water depots helps the community to get affordable and practical drinking water. However, poor quality drinking water will, however, have an effect on health. One of the quality parameters of drinking water that is suitable for consumption is not contaminated by the bacteria Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp. and Escherichia sp. Measurement of the quality of drinking water, in addition to microbiological tests, can be carried out molecularly using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) method. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the sensitivity and specificity of PCR for detection of drinking water pathogens. DNA was extracted from cultures of E. coli, Salmonella sp., Escherichia sp. and some non-coliform bacteria. PCR was performed separately using primer pairs of E. coli-AA-Forward and E.coli-AA-Reverse, Salmonella-OY-Forward and Salmonella-OY-Reverse, E. coli-DB-Forward and E. coli-DB-Reverse. The results of the PCR sensitivity showed that the minimum amount of DNA that can be detected by this method were 0.0025 ng/µL, 0,0005 ng/µL, 0,04 ng/µL for E. coli, Salmonella sp., Escherichia sp., respectively. The results of the PCR specificity of each primer pairs indicated that these methods were able to detect each coliform bacterium specifically according to PCR product size of ± 417 bp, ± 559 bp and ± 815 bp for E. coli, Salmonella sp., Escherichia sp., respectively.
The use of heavy metal biomarkers is needed to detect and integrate heavy metals at the molecular level. Metallothionein gene is a gene that is expressed in fish organs that have been heavily polluted. The aim of the study was to find specific primers for methallothionein of tor fish. Detection of the metallothionein gene expression in PCR instruments requires a primer in the form of a short chain DNA sequence as a specific target DNA identifier. The primer design was performed in silico using the NCBI site and multiple-aligned using Geneious Prime bioinformatic software. Primers were designed according to the conserved region of these genes. The primers specificity was checked using Primer BLAST tools in NCBI. The results showed that the forward primer 1 (5'- GAT TGC GCC AAG ACT GGA ACT –3') and reverse primer 1 (5' – ATC ACG TTG ACC TCC TCA CTG -3') qualified as good primers with an amplicon size 186 bp.
