BUKU ABSTRAK - Universiti Putra Malaysia

Investigation of the Effect of Allicin on Biofilm Growth and Gene Expression in
Candida albicans
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chong Pei Pei
Alireza Khodavandi, Fahimeh Alizadeh, Zamberi Sekawi, Shiran Md. Sidik and Fauziah Othman
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8947 2302; cpp@medic.upm.edu.my
Keywords: Candida, allicin, biofilm, MIC
Novel Feed Supplement for Aquaculture Animals derived from the Metabolites of
Probiotic Strain of Lactobacillus plantarum I-UL4
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Foo Hooi Ling
Anuradha Karunakaramoorthy, Loh Teck Chwen, Mariana Nor Shamsudin and Raha Abdul Rahim
Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8946 7476; hlfoo@biotech.upm.edu.my
Keywords: Lactobacillus plantarum, metabolite, tilapia, feed supplement
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Agriculture
Candida albicans is an opportunistic human pathogen with the ability to morph and grow in filamentous
forms and exist as biofilms. The biofilms are a barrier to treatment as they are often resistant to the anti-fungal
drugs. In this study, we investigated the antifungal activity of allicin, an active compound of garlic on various
Candida species. The effect of allicin on biofilm of Candida albicans was investigated using XTT and CV
assays. Several genes involved in biofilm and hypha formation were profiled via real-time PCR analysis when
the Candida cells were treated with varying dilutions of the MIC values of allicin. Fluconazole was used as a
standard control drug. The results showed that allicin could inhibit biofilm formation to a significant extent similar
to fluconazole. Gene expression of INT1, HWP1 was differentially regulated upon treatment of the Candida cells
with allicin. These encouraging results demonstrated that allicin could be further developed into an alternative or
supplementary therapeutic arsenal against Candida infections in humans.
Feeding the aquaculture animal with additive such as antibiotic to enhance the productivity of the farm
had been a common practice in aquaculture farming. However, the usage of antibiotics as growth enhancer is
prohibited in many countries due to the increasing evolution of bacterial pathogens, leading to the development
of resistance to the treatment antibiotic. Therefore, this study was conducted to reveal the probiotic effect of the
novel feed supplement derived from the metabolite produced by probiotic strain of Lactobacillus plantarum
I-UL4 to replace the usage of antibiotic as growth promoter in aquaculture animals. The effect on the growth
performance, antibody production, survival rate after being challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila and the total
viable count of Enterobacteriaceae, A. hydrophila and LAB count in fish digesta was investigated for the L.
plantarum I-UL4 metabolite mixed in fish feed. A total of 48 tilapias, with body weight of 17-18 g each were
randomly assigned to two treatment groups: fed with commercial feed added with spray-dried UL4 metabolite
and fed only commercial feed for a period of four weeks before being challenged with A. hydrophila for 10 days.
The growth performance and antibody level increased significantly in UL4 group compared to the control group.
The challenge test with A. hydrophila at 108 cfu/ml yielded significantly greater survival in UL4 group compared
to control fish (P