Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acetate, propionate, butyrate and lactate were determined in 12 % reconstituted skim milk (RSM) and RSM supplemented with inulin (RSMI). The fermentation was performed with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (BB 12) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG ATCC 53013. Fermentation culture activities produced substantial amounts of SCFAs, which were detected and quantitated using a HPLC-UV technique. Using HPLC-UV, we were able to detect low concentrations of lactate and SCFAs from fermented samples; lactate, acetate, propionate and butyrate were detected at 10.10, 12.06, 14.80 and 18.06 μg/mL, respectively. The retention time of all SCFAs and lactic acid were similar to the standard quality control (±0.05), and average recovery ranged between 89.73 and 91.03 %. The experimental conditions and sample preparation were applied to preparative HPLC to isolate and purify SCFAs with concentration range between 0.09 and 2.86 mg/mL. The purity of extracted SCFAs was confirmed using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization/mass spectrometry by determining the molecular masses of target purified compounds. The scaled up validated analytical HPLC-UV method will further enhance and improve the use of this approach to produce purified large-scale SCFAs.
M. Asarat , T. Vasiljevic, M. Ravikumar, V. Apostolopoulos, O. Donkor(4-2016)

Seventy five random samples were collected (25 raw milk, 50 local different made soft cheeses) from different supermarkets in Tripoli- Libya. The Objectives of this study were: (i)- to clear the incidence rate and count of coliforms as an indicator microorganisms for fecal contamination in raw milk and locally made soft cheese samples manufactured by traditional methods and (ii)- to make comparison between the most famous two conventional methods used for counting of such group of microorganisms. Coliforms were recovered from all the raw milk samples using the two methods (most probable number using liquid lauryl sulphate broth and sold plating method using violet red bile agar). The mean count for the former media was 28x106 while for the later one was 15x106 cfu/ml. For cheese samples (locally made Ricotta and Maasora), positive samples were 78% (39 samples) using MPN method, while 76% (38 samples) using sold plating media VRBA. The mean coliform count for positive samples using MPN was 18x107 cfu/g, while for VRBA plates the mean count for positive samples was 21x106 cfu/g. all counts were higher using MPN than VRBA for the same sample in both raw milk and cheese samples, although, clear difference in count between the two methods was recorded in cheese than that in raw milk, conditions that may affect the count in both raw milk and cheese were discussed. Factors that may limit
Hesham Taher Naas(1-2007)

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have been recognized as mediators of immune responses, including pathways of cytokine production. In this study, we investigated the immune-regulatory effects of SCFAs on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from buffy coat of healthy donors. PBMCs were exposed to varying concentrations of individual SCFAs or of their mixtures of acetate, propionate and butyrate. The productions of interleukin (IL) IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IL-21, IL-23 and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) were assessed. T cell differentiation after exposure to SCFAs was also examined. Compared with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cells (controls), SCFAs slightly decreased TGF-β1 production and reduced IL-6 production; butyrate was more effective than acetate or propionate. SCFAs particularly butyrate caused the induction of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Treg) rather than Th17 cells. SCFAs may up-regulate the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines in PBMCs, resulting in the induction of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells
M. Asarat, V. Apostolopoulos, T. Vasiljevic , O. Donkor(3-2016)