akram ghahramani-chermahini

Cryptosporidium is one of the most important pathogenic parasites in poultry because it is a zoonotic parasite, and birds and other infected animals could be a potential threat to public health. The main purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of Cryptosporidium infection in domestic fowl in Shahrekord by PCR method.

In this cross-sectional study, 110 fecal samples were collected from fowls referred to the Veterinary Clinic of Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch. After DNA extraction, the samples were examined by PCR, and the frequency of infection in different genders and seasons was analyzed by SPSS statistical software.

Out of 110 samples, 15 (13.64%) samples were positive for Cryptosporidium. The rate of Cryptosporidium infection in the females was 12.85% and in the males was 15%. The results also showed that there was no statistically significant difference between two sexes (male and female) regarding the prevalence of Cryptosporidium, while the frequency of infection in cold seasons (22.22%) was significantly higher than in warm seasons (7.69%).

Fowls could be considered as one of the important reservoirs of Cryptosporidium infection for humans.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine. The use of a gluten-free diet is the most important method of treating celiac disease. Corn and rice flour are alternative options for wheat flour in bakery products. The aim of this study was to investigate the preparation of baguette bread with corn and rice flour combined with gums.

Gluten-free baguette bread was prepared with a mixture of equal parts of corn and rice flour with hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose and Persian gums in different concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1%).

The results showed that hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose and Persian gums cause the yield of dough to increase significantly and decrease yield percent of baguette gluten free bread compared to control samples. By adding gums, water content and fiber of samples in compared control treatment increased. Moreover, gums increased the volume and improved the color appearance of baguette bread samples containing gum, but there was no significant difference in uniformity characteristics of the back of gluten-free baguette samples. Adding gums reduce the staling time after cooking baguette bread containing gum (by sensory and texture analyzer). Furthermore, adding gums increases the volume of baguette bread samples containing gum.

The results show that the use of corn and rice flour with hydroxy, propylmethylcellulose gums and Persian gum is possible to produce gluten-free baguette and can be used in the diet of celiac patients.