Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) caused by abnormal immune responses, leading to inflammation and scarring in the large intestine. The bacteria Prevotella melaninogenica, found in the intestine and mouth, may contribute to UC. This study focuses on the detection of P. melaninogenica in the saliva of UC patients and compares them with the healthy control (HC) group. Methods: The present study was a case-control study including 40 UC patients and 40 healthy controls (HCs) with an average age of 43.0 3± 10.3. This study used a real-time PCR test to investigate the frequency and average number of P. melaninogenica from the 16S rRNA gene sequence of P. melaninogenica in both groups. Results: P. melaninogenica was more frequent in UC patients (77.5%) than HCs (45%) (p = 0.003). The patient group had more bacteria (339.31 ± 1082.29) than HCs (61.29 ± 154.03) (p = 0.005). Women in the UC group had more P. melaninogenica (492.35 ± 1427.61) than the control group (56.98 ± 123.50) (p = 0.0342). Similarly, men in the UC group (262.85 ± 664.97) had more bacteria than the control group (72.62 ± 222.76) (p = 0.015). Conclusion: The current study showed that dysbiosis in P. melaninogenica, a bacterium in human saliva, could be important in the development of UC. Further investigation is needed to evaluate its use as a potential biomarker in the UC.

Bacterial vaginosis (BY) has been considered to be the most prevalent infection found in sexually active women. BV is thought to play an important role in the premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and preterm birth. Preterm delivery accounts for a substantial percentage oflow birth weight infants and perinatal mortality and morbidity. Bacteroides and Prevotella species have been isolated from the amniochorion of women with preterm birth and PROM. Women with> 104/mLPrevotella bivius (formerly Bacteroides bivius) have a 60-100% higher rate of preterm delivery. The purpose of this study was to determine wether some strains of Prevotella species isolated from PROM andBV patients produce proteases especially collagenase enzymes which faciliate the rupture of membranes leading to preterm birth. Vaginal specimens have been obtained from 120 women with BV and premature rupture of membrane in 30-44 weeks gestational age. Twenty anaerobic coccobacilli consisting of Bacteroides fragilis, black pigmented Bacteroides and Prevotella bivius were isolated and identified. The isolates were examined for protease activity, using porcine skine gelatin and casein as substrates by Martleys method. Elastase and collagenase activity were detected using elastin, guinea pig skin collagen, bovine achillestendon collagen,FALGPAand GP,VPKas substratesby Levenson method. Collagenase and elastase activity was detected in 90 and 100% of isolates. Gelatinase and caseinase activity was detected in 40 and 50% of isolates. Collagenase produced by Prevotella bivia isolates was purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation, gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography.The collagenase was cleaved from the synthetic collagen substrate FALGPA, and GP,VPK substrates. The activity of the enzyme was inhibited by EDTA, Antipain and PMSF. This study suggests that proteases produced by Prevotella bivia may be involved in the pathogenesis of premature rupture of membrane. PROM before 37 weeks has been reported to be significantly higher among patients with Bacteroides and Prevotella colonisation of the genital tract. The amniochorion consists of collagen and elastin which convey physical integrity to the placenta. Collagenase and elastase released into the genital tract may promote connective tissue destruction in the cervix and chorioamnion membranes.

Microbial infection and microbial resistance to the classical antibiotics have been immense challenges which portend the health of societies. This has directed researchers to straight their attention onto the plants to discover new possible antimicrobial compounds. In this work, 5 solvents were employed to extract the dried seeds powder of quince by ultrasound including ethanol, ethyl-acetate, chloroform, n-hexane, and diethyl-ether. Each extract was subjected to three in vitro antimicrobial tests using the broth-dilution method. The antibacterial effect against the following aerobic bacteria which are Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Klebsiella pneumonia ATCC 700603, Haemophilus influenzae ATCC 49247, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella typhi ATCC 6539, Shigella dysenteriae ATCC 13313, and non-pathogenic Escherichia coli BAA-1427 applying ciprofloxacin antibiotic as a standard reference, antibacterial study against anaerobic bacteria which include Bacteroides fragilis ATCC 25285, Clostridium perfringens ATCC 13124, Fusobacterium necrophorum ATCC 25286, and Prevotella melaninogenica ATCC 25845 employing metronidazole as a reference, and antifungal study versus Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and Aspergillus niger ATCC 16888, nystatin was the reference. The toxicity against the normal bacterial flora was evaluated to verify the safety profile of the extracts. The results revealed that the extracts have antimicrobial activities with supremacy linked to ethanol extract. In accordance to the activity evidence values, the extracts displayed bactericidal and fungicidal activities, with ethanol extract having the least harmful effect against non-pathogenic microbial strain.

Background: Increasing studies suggest that the microbiome-gut-brain axis plays a fundamental role in developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Objectives: We aimed to explore biomarkers from gut bacteria in ASD and the dietary vitamin A (VitA) relationship with intestinal bacteria of autistic children and provide a theoretical basis for dietary regulation of ASD. Methods: Ten autistic children aged 2 to 6 from special training facilities were enrolled from 2017 to 2018. At the same time, 10 healthy children aged 2 to 6 from a kindergarten were collected as a control. All participants were from Chongqing, China. The 16sRNA amplicon sequencing was used to analyze children’, s intestinal bacteria. The serum retinol level was detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and children’, s dietary intake was analyzed using three-day 24-hour dietary recalls. Results: There were signifi, cant diff, erences in alpha diversity between the groups. Also, a higher relative abundance of Prevotellaceae, Prevotella 9, and Roseburia was observed among ASD children. We also found decreases in 9 bacteria (Enterobacteriales, Gammaproteobacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridiaceae 1, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Escherichia-Shigella, Bacteroides fragilis, Escherichia coli, and Clostridium neonatale). Dietary VitA intake and serum retinol concentration were lower in the ASD group than in the control group. Meanwhile, serum VitA had a signifi, cantly negative correlation with the abundance of intestinal Prevotella 9. Conclusions: Our study helps identify some bacterial biomarkers for ASD, as in previous reports. Meanwhile, the study suggests that dietary VitA may be involved in the clinical symptoms of ASD by regulating the intestinal bacteria Prevotella. It may provide a new way to treat ASD in the future. Further studies are needed to identify the results by expanding the sample size and developing animal experiments.