BACKGROUND: Poultry and poultry products are among the major sources of Salmonella infections for humans. Increasing occurrence of antimicrobial resistance among Salmonellae has become a serious public health concern. The detection of extended spectrum b-lactamase (ESBL) producers among Salmonella spp. has increased in recent years. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the antibiotic resistance pattern of Salmonella, and to understand whether ESBLs were present in Salmonella isolated from poultry farms and slaughterhouses from various parts of Iran. METHODS: A total of 314 isolates of Salmonella spp., 272 of poultry and 42 from human origin, collected during winter 2005-2011 were characterized for antimicrobial resistance and the presence of ESBL genes in this study. Phenotypic Disk diffusion method was performed for detection of anti-microbial susceptibility against 16 antimicrobial agents according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute's recom-mendations (CLSI, 2005). To detect the presence of ESBL genes in 30 isolates out of 61 phenotypical resistant isolates, PCR amplific-ation was used by employing specific primers for screening of the CTX-M and CMY groups, respectively. RESULTS: The highest resistance to ceforoxime in poultry and cefixime in human isolates was observed, and multidrug resistance (MDR) was seen with a maximum seven antimicrobial agents. The PCR detection of CTX-M and CMY genes in all isolates including five phenotypically ESBL positive isolates was negative. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the incidence of resistance to cephalosporins and the frequency of MDR among Salmonella isolates from poultry farms in Iran. The prevalence of MDR Salmonella isolates from poultry are of particular concern as these strains can transmit to humans through the food chain

Background: Nowadays, Microencapsulation of probiotic bacteria is the newest method for increasing the survival ability of probiotics in Food products. The Lactobacillus acidophilus as a probiotic bacterium has more beneficial effects and the low survival of this bacterium under food processing conditions and adverse environment have been studied by many researchers. OBJECTIVES: In this study, Lactobacillus acidophilus was added to mayonnaise sauce as either free cells or encapsulated and the survival of probiotic was evaluated during storage for 30 days at 4oC. METHODS: The emulsion method was performed for the microencapsulation process of Lactobacillus acidophilus. A morphological characteristic of capsules was indicated by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. RESULTS: The microencapsulation with calcium alginate-resistant starch significantly affected (p

Background: Probiotics and especially Lactobacilli are among the most important components widely used in food technology. Isolation and characterization of indigenous probiotics should be performed in native populations. OBJECTIVES: In order to isolate lactobacillus spp. from Iranian traditional Lighvan cheese to be used as starters, 15 cheese samples were randomly selected and tested for technological and probiotics properties. METHODS: Lactobacilli were characterized using culture-based and bio-chemical techniques and results were verified using PCR analyses of the 16S rRNA region. The probiotic characteristics of these bacteria were studied by acid and bile tolerance. The susceptibility of different isolates against a number of important antibiotics was tested. The technological traits of LAB were assessed using measurement of acid production and analyzing salt tolerance. The isolates were also screened for proteolytic and lipolytic activity. RESULTS: Of the 12 samples containing Lactobacilli, 10 belonged to L. plantarum while 2 were close to L. bulgaricus spp. All isolates were tolerant to 3% NaCl and 9 tolerated 6-8% NaCl. Almost all isolates were lipase-positive at 37 °C and 30 °C. Nine Lactobacilli were shown to be protease-positive at 37°C. Two isolates were completely tolerant to pH 1.55, 4 had intermediate resistance, 4 were of weak resistance and 1 was sensitive. All but one isolate were tolerant to 0.03% bile acid. Some isolates were shown to be sensitive to erythromycin, ampicillin, tetracycline, amikacin and rifampicin. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that most of the isolated Lactobacilli can be used as industrial cheese starters and/or as native probiotics in production of functional foods.

Background: According to literature, there are differences among different species of animals in respect to absorption of D-xylose. OBJECTIVES: In two experiments, the differences that might exist in absorptive capacity of small intestine for D-xylose, in different types of chicken were tested. METHODS: In experiment one, 2 groups of nine adult layer type males (48 weeks) and females (58 weeks), and in experiment two, 4 groups of ten young (4 week) broiler type or layer type male or female chickens were dosed D-xylose solution (50 mg/mL, 500 mg/kg BW), orally. One blood sample before, and 5 others immediately after the administration of D-xylose solution, were taken from wing vein of the birds at 30 minute intervals for 150 minutes, and the concentration of D-xylose in plasma was measured. RESULTS: In experiment one, D-xylose concentration reached its peak at 60 to 90 min in both adult males and females, and followed a quadratic trend with time (r2 for adult males = 0.735 and adult females = 0.801). In experiment two, D-xylose concentration reached its peak at 60 min for all experimental groups and followed a quadratic trend with time (r2 for broiler type male = 0.681, broiler type female = 0.850, layer type male = 0.695 and layer type female = 0.748). CONCLUSIONS: D-xylose test was shown to be a sensitive tool for the evaluation of intestinal absorption capacity of chicken. This test revealed that there were some differences in absorption function of intestine among the birds with different breeds, sexes, ages, and nutritional demands

Fungal agents, especially yeasts, are resident in digestive system as microflora and they can invade the mucosal tract in animals with predisposing factors. The prevalence of the resident fungal flora in the digestive tract of healthy broilers and layers during April to September 2008 was investigated. The samples were taken from the preventriculus, jejunum and cecum contents of 120 birds and cultured on Sabouraud glucose agar. Both filamentous fungus and yeasts were isolated and a predominance of the Candida species was found, followed by Trichosporon beigelii, Geotrichum candidum, Rhodotorula rubra and Saccharomyces cerevisiae species, which were found in 84.6%, 5.5%, 4.6%, 3.3% and 0.5% of cultures, respectively. Among the yeast isolates, Candida albicans (45.8%) was the most prevalent fungal agent, representing a significant proportion when compared to the other fungal isolates (P

Cases of minimally-invasive surgery are gaining acceptance among surgeons and animal owners. One type of minimally-invasive surgery is total splenectomy, which is indicated for splenic tumors, trauma, torsions, and for dogs that require blood transfusion. To assess the safety of the technique, experimental laparoscopic splenectomies were performed in dogs for the first time in Iran. Three adult male mixed-breed dogs were placed in dorsal recumbency at a 45° angle in the right lateral position, under aseptic condition and general anesthesia. Three trocars were placed; at the umbilicus, 3 cm cranial to the umbilicus and in the right caudolateral abdomen. The spleen was rotated 90° laterally and thermal coagulation of the blood vessels was performed by bipolar electrocautery. The pedicles were checked to ensure hemostasis. The spleen was morcellated and removed from the umbilical port using a retrieval bag. The mean surgery time was 42 minutes, and all dogs survived the surgery without complications. Laparoscopic splenectomy via three portals was found to be easy and safe.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and type of ophthalmic diseases among horse populations in the suburbian riding clubs of Tehran. Ophthalmologic examinations were performed in 901 horses and ocular lesions were diagnosed in 40 (4.4%) animals. In the 54 eyes of these horses that had ocular defects, 103 ocular abnormalities were detected. Of those horses affected, 65% showed abnormalities in one eye and 35% had abnormalities in both eyes. Various sequelae to ocular trauma and periodic ophthalmia were the most common and recognizable causes, which comprised 25% and 15% of horses with ocular defects, respectively.

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of food-borne diarrhea in many countries. Poultry and poultry products are known as important sources of human campylobacteriosis. In this study, conventional culture and multiplex PCR methods were compared for the detection of C. jejuni isolated from poultry carcasses. A total of 100 samples, representing 20 broiler flocks, were collected from poultry carcasses after the evisceration stage in the processing line at a commercial broiler slaughtering facility in Mashhad, Iran. In the conventional culture method, samples were processed by enrichment followed by selective plating, and then suspected colonies were isolated on sheep blood agar and tested for morphology, motility, Gram staining, biochemical properties and hippurate hydrolysis activity. For the identification of the Campylobacter genus and its jejuni serovar by molecular methods, a multiplex PCR assay (m-PCR) with two sets of specific primers was used. In the hippurate hydrolysis test of suspected colonies, 76% of the samples were determined as positive, while in the m-PCR assay 28% of cultures harvested were identified as C. jejuni. Two percent of hippurate hydrolyze negative colonies were found positive in the m-PCR test. It appears that the conventional method, based on the hippurate hydrolysis test for detection of C. jejuni, is a less reliable test. The use of the m-PCR method, based on amplification from conserved genes, allows reliable detection and identification of C. jejuni.

To determine the effect of bilateral uterine artery ligation (BUAL) on mast cell (MC) distribution, 24 mature female rabbits were studied. The rabbits were ovariohysterectomized on day 23, 43 or 63 following BUAL. Histological sections were stained with toluidine blue to determine the MC distribution. In rabbits that had undergone BUAL, MCs were present extensively in the helium of the treated ovaries, in dense groups close to the blood vessels. In the control group, MCs were observed at a medium density around the blood vessels and the number of MCs in the reproductive tract was significantly (P ? 0.01) lower than in the test groups. This study demonstrates that, after BUAL, the distribution and numbers of MCs differ between different parts of the reproductive system.

Due to the range of its constituents, colostrum has been considered as a supplement for various diverse purposes. This study was conducted to examine the effect of supplementary bovine colostrum on serum malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant activity (AOA) and glucose in a diabetic rodent model. Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into 10 groups of six rats each for 40 days as follows: non-diabetic; diabetic; diabetic with 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake; non-diabetic with 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake; diabetic treated with insulin; and diabetic treated with glibenclamide. Although serum MDA levels showed a significant decrease in response to insulin (2.56 ± 0.31 µmol/L) and 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake (0.46 ± 0.04, 0.29 ± 0.06, 0.37 ± 0.09 µmol/L, respectively), the decrease was greater in the diabetic rats (3.92 ± 0.29 µmol/L) (p < 0.01). Significant changes were seen in the AOA of both insulin (0.78 ± 0.11 mmol/L) and glibenclamide (0.7 ± 0.08 mmol/L) treated rats compared to the diabetic rats (0.69 ± 0.1 mmol/L); however, AOA showed a significant increase in response to 10% (1.78 ± 0.11 mmol/L), 20% (1.57 ± 0.02 mmol/L) and 30% (1.75 ± 0.02 mmol/L) colostrum (p < 0.001). All treated groups showed a significant decrease in serum glucose levels compared to the diabetic group (391 ± 39.79 mg/dL) (p < 0.01). It seems that colostrum might be a beneficial dietary supplement for reducing serum MDA and glucose levels while increasing serum AOA in type1 diabetes mellitus.