Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Brazilian Medicinal Plant
Tanacetum
balsamita
and their Applications
Isao Kubo,* Ken-ichi Fujita and Kuniyoshi Shimizu
Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management,
University of California, Berkeley, USA
16.1
Introduction
their faeces and thereby spread
Salmonella
bacteria (Davies and Breslin, 2003). Currently,
there are no appropriate anti-
Salmonella
agents available for pepper. Phytochemicals
characterized as anti-
Salmonella
agents can
be applicable in disinfecting and preventing
the spread of these bacteria. For example,
the anti-
Salmonella
phytochemicals may be
mixed into artificial fodder, thereby reduc-
ing the presence of
Salmonella
in the faeces
and consequently on the ground. Phyto-
chemicals are different in structure from
compounds of the better-studied microbial
sources and hence their modes of action
may very likely differ.
In our previous studies, some aliphatic
2
E
-alkenals characterized from a Brazilian
medicinal plant,
Tanacetum balsamita
(Compositae), known locally as 'catinga de
mulata', showed broad antimicrobial activity
(Kubo and Kubo, 1995). Therefore, further
evaluation of these 2
E
-alkenals against
Salmonella choleraesuis
may provide new
insights into their antibacterial action on a
molecular basis. The maximum antimicro-
bial activity of aliphatic 2
E
-alkenals is
dependent on the balance of the hydro-
phobic alkyl (tail) chain length from the
The salmonellae are Gram-negative non-
spore-forming rods. There are over 2500 sero-
vars of
Salmonella
, all of which are presumed
to be pathogenic to humans. Salmonellosis
can result following the ingestion of viable
cells of any member of the genus
Salmonella
.
It is the second most common bacterial food-
borne illness after
Campylobacter
infection.
A search for anti-
Salmonella
agents was
initiated by a request to solve the problem of
pepper
Piper nigrum
(Piperaceae) fruit con-
tamination by
Salmonella
in the Amazon
basin. This contamination was probably
caused by an increase in large-scale poultry
farms around the areas where peppers are
produced, because chickens are important
sources of
Salmonella
contamination.
Sal-
monella
infection occurs when bacteria are
ingested, typically from food derived from
infected animals, but infection can also occur
by ingesting the faeces of infected animals.
Chickens may be infected with a number of
different types of
Salmonella
, which then
appear in the faecal matter (Guard-Petter,
2001). In addition, infected rodents and bats
may contaminate unprotected pepper with
* E-mail: ikubo@berkeley.edu
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