Aims: Coral diseases have emerged over the last several decades, causing a loss of live coral cover in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific reefs. Hence, microbiological and disease cultural techniques are commonly used to investigate their causative microbial agents. This is the first study to identify the potential of pathogenic Vibrio spp. isolated from apparently white syndrome (WS) coral disease in Tioman Island Marine Park using biochemical and molecular techniques. Methodology and results: The Vibrio colonies were isolated from 108 samples of WS infected corals (Acropora cytherea and Montipora aequituberculata) including seawater, sediment and algae found adjacent to infected coral colonies. A total of one hundred representative Vibrio isolates were characterized and most of them (n=50) were identified as V. vulnificus, V. alginolyticus and Photobacterium damselae following biochemical analysis. The molecular analysis revealed six Vibrio spp. (V. coralliilyticus, V. hepatarius, V. brasiliensis, V. tubiashi, V. campbellii, V. ishigakensis) and one Photobacterium rosenbergii. Vibrio coralliilyticus isolated from all infected coral samples may be highly responsible for the sign of WS disease. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The findings of this study provide baseline data and information on potential coral pathogens identified in the coastal waters of Tioman Island. Etiological disease study is suggested to validate their severity and virulence factors in the future.
Vibrio--pathogenicity ; Anthozoa

Chemical constituents in soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum were separated and purified by various chromatographic methods. Based on the spectral data, physicochemical properties, and comparison with the data reported in the literature, nine cembranoids, including a new cembranoid named sefsarcophinolide(1) together with eight known cembranoids, namely(+)-isosarcophine(2), sarcomilitatin D(3), sarcophytonolide J(4),(1S,3E,7E,13S)-11,12-epoxycembra-3,7,15-triene-13-ol(5), sarcophytonin B(6),(-)-eunicenone(7), lobophytin B(8), and arbolide C(9), were identified. As revealed by biological activity experiment results, compounds 2-6 had weak acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, and compound 5 displayed weak cytotoxicity against K562 tumor cell line.
Animals ; Anthozoa ; Acetylcholinesterase ; Cell Line, Tumor

Several indices have been developed that use bleeding and color changes as indicators of early gingival pathology. In the presence of gingivitis, vascular proliferation and reduction of keratinization owing to increase redness in gingiva. Descriptions of healthy gingiva are numerous, ranging from pale pink and coral pink to deep red and violet. This terms are not objective. Because of perception of color depends on a lot of factors such as light source, object, observer and so on. It is difficult to make an objective expression. Therefore the using of mechanical equipment is recommended to exclude these variables and observer's vias. The purpose of this study was to evaluate gingival color change after scaling & subgingival root planing. The other purpose of this study was to research the correlation of pocket depth, P.B.I. score and gingival color change. After photo-taking and storaging the image of gingival color into a computer, color change was examine with an image analysis program. Results were as follow; 1. Color of healed gingiva after scaling & subgingival root planing was significantly differ from color of inflamed gingiva(p<0.01). 2. Color of healed gingiva after scaling was similar to color of healed gingiva after subgingival root planing(p<0.05). 3. There was statistically significant correlation between color change of red component and pocket depth after scaling & subgingival root planing(p<0.01) 4. There was no correlation between color change of green, blue component and pocket depth after scaling & subgingival root planing(p<0.01) 5. There was statistically significant correlation between between color change of red component and P.B.I. score after scaling & subgingival root planing(p<0.01). 6. There was no correlation between color changes of green, blue component and P.B.I. score after scaling & subgingival root planing(p<0.01) 7. Increase of pocket depth and P.B.I. score were significantly correlated to the amount of color change(p<0.01). 8. P.B.I. score had a higher correlation with color change than pocket depth(p<0.01).
Anthozoa ; Gingiva ; Gingivitis ; Hemorrhage ; Pathology ; Root Planing* ; Viola

Several indices have been developed that use bleeding and color changes as indicators of early gingival pathology. In the presence of gingivitis, vascular proliferation and reduction of keratinization owing to increase redness in gingiva. Descriptions of healthy gingiva are numerous, ranging from pale pink and coral pink to deep red and violet. This terms are not objective. Because of perception of color depends on a lot of factors such as light source, object, observer and so on. It is difficult to make an objective expression. Therefore the using of mechanical equipment is recommended to exclude these variables and observer's vias. The purpose of this study was to evaluate gingival color change after scaling & subgingival root planing. The other purpose of this study was to research the correlation of pocket depth, P.B.I. score and gingival color change. After photo-taking and storaging the image of gingival color into a computer, color change was examine with an image analysis program. Results were as follow; 1. Color of healed gingiva after scaling & subgingival root planing was significantly differ from color of inflamed gingiva(p<0.01). 2. Color of healed gingiva after scaling was similar to color of healed gingiva after subgingival root planing(p<0.05). 3. There was statistically significant correlation between color change of red component and pocket depth after scaling & subgingival root planing(p<0.01) 4. There was no correlation between color change of green, blue component and pocket depth after scaling & subgingival root planing(p<0.01) 5. There was statistically significant correlation between between color change of red component and P.B.I. score after scaling & subgingival root planing(p<0.01). 6. There was no correlation between color changes of green, blue component and P.B.I. score after scaling & subgingival root planing(p<0.01) 7. Increase of pocket depth and P.B.I. score were significantly correlated to the amount of color change(p<0.01). 8. P.B.I. score had a higher correlation with color change than pocket depth(p<0.01).
Anthozoa ; Gingiva ; Gingivitis ; Hemorrhage ; Pathology ; Root Planing* ; Viola

The purpose of this study was to observe bone apposition and marginal bone loss and to check the possibility of success on titanium implant, HA coated implant and the implant with natural coral that were place immediately after teeth extraction in dogs. Experimental subjects were divided into 4 groups ; the 1st group is the titanium implant, second the HA coated implant, third the implant with natural coral, and the last the control group that was prepared in the extraction sockets. After 12 weeks, the dogs were sacrificed for visual observation and microscopic examination approaching histologic and histomorphometric analysis. The results were as follows : 1. Neither the infection nor the exposure of implant was found at the sites of all implant. 2. In a histomorphometric analysis, mean percentage of direct bone contact with the titanium implant was 80.7% and the HA coated implant showed 81.5% apposition, but the implant with natural coral showed 64.9% apposition(P<0.05). 3. In a microscopic examination, mature lamellated bone was found around the immediate implants and control group, while unabsorbed natural coral around the immediate implants with natural coral was found. 4. All immediate implant groups showed the loss of marginal bone in order from implant with natural coral, titanium implant, and HA coated implant. 5. Implant with natural coral that was placed by the type I interface of the Barzilay's classification immediately after teeth extraction showed low percentage of direct bone contact area, low success rate and a lot of marginal bone loss. Above results suggested that the immediate implants are osseointegrated successfully, although slightly marginal bone was loss.
Alveolar Bone Loss* ; Animals ; Anthozoa ; Classification ; Dogs ; Titanium ; Tooth

A case of porphyria cutanca tarda is reported, in which the photosensitive cutaneous symptoms developed in association with impaired hepatic function possibly related to chronic consumption of alcohol. Wood's light examination of the urine revealed coral red fluorescence, and qualitative chemical urinalysis was strong positive for uroporphyrin and coproporphyrin. Biopsy of the skin showed subepidermal bulla with festooning arrangement of the naked papillae and basophilic degeneration of the dermis. The patient's favorable response to alkalinization therapy by sodium bicarbonate per os is encouraging, even for a short period's observation. Clinical, histopathological, and biochemical features of this disease are also discussed.
Anthozoa ; Basophils ; Biopsy ; Dermis ; Fluorescence ; Porphyrias ; Skin ; Sodium Bicarbonate ; Urinalysis

Contact with coral may cause a rare type of contact dermatitis, and the resulting skin reaction can be divided into different reactions: the acute, delayed and chronic types of coelenterate dermatitis. Granulomas of delayed skin reactions have rarely been reported. Herein, we report on a rare case of a delayed reaction of the skin to coral injury, and the patient displayed superficial granulomas and atypical CD30+ lymphocytes.
Anthozoa ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Skin

A soft coral Sinularia sp., collected from the South China Sea, was selected to investigate the bioactive and chemical constituents. The EtOAc fraction were isolated by repeatedly silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography to obtain lobophytolide A (1), 3-dehydroxylpresinularolide B (2), sarcophine (3), 3 beta-acetoxyisolobophytolide (4), Crassocolide D (5), (3E,7E,11E)-6-acetoxy-3,7,11,15(17)-cembratrien-16,14-olide (6). The structures of compounds 1-6 were determined on the basis of spectroscopic data analysis. All compounds were tested against a small panel of human tumor cell lines. And these compounds were obtained for the first time from this coral.
Animals ; Anthozoa ; chemistry ; Diterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure

Autogenous costal cartilage graft has been commonly used for reconstruction of auricular deformity. However, the risk of complication and discomfort at the donor site, as well as distortion of the graft due to morphological change in the cartilage have been serious drawbacks to this procedure. Previous studies examining the chondrogenic potential of perichondrium have suggested that perichondrium may be used as graft for cartilage reconstruction. When a perichondrial flap or a free perichondrium was used as graft, new cartilage formed appositional to the grafted perichondrium. However, the neocartilage was often irregular in shape and varied considerably in quantity. In this study, the feasibility of controlling the shape and the mass of neocartilage was investigated using coral, a porous biomaterial, as a template. A coral a template was wrapped with perichondrial flap from the ears of New Zealand white rabbits and placed into a subcutaneous pocket in the rabbits and placed into a subcutaneous pocket in the rabbit's back by incision. A total of 12 animals were used. Formation of new cartilage was later evaluated by gross and histological examination of the perichondrial flap and the coral template. New cartilage was formed in 11 animals. Immature chondrocytes were visible by 3 weeks after the surgery, and by 8 weeks the immature chondrocytes had formed a cartilage. New cartilage was formed only on the surface of the coral template. These results indicated that the shape and the mass of new cartilage may be controlled by using coral template. Therefore, the desired shape of cartilage may be achieved using a coral template of corresponding shape, and this may help in correcting subtle auricular contour defect and in correcting other structural defects that also require new cartilage formation.
Animals ; Anthozoa* ; Cartilage ; Chondrocytes ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Ear ; Humans ; Rabbits ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

Coral is a member of the class Anthozoa, which cause injury due to stings from their tentacles containing nematocytes or from their sharp-edged calcified outer skeletons. Sting from their nematocytes may cause coral poisoning and cause a rare type of contact dermatitis. A 24-year-old woman, who had been contacted to coral during skin-scuba diving in the Philippines 7 days before, was presented with multiple brownish plaques and patches with small vesicles on the dorsum of the left hand. Herein, we report a case of contact dermatitis to coral by the nematocyst stings of corals.
Anthozoa ; Bites and Stings ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Diving ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Nematocyst ; Philippines ; Skeleton ; Young Adult