Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2016 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 7 Articles
Antibacterial and antifungal activity of ethanol, methanol, chloroform and diethyl ester extract of dried jellyfish (Porpita porpita) was assayed against five gram-ve (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas sp., Vibrio cholerae, Streptococcus pyrogenes and Escherichia coli) and five gram+ve (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus sp., Enterococcus sp., Clostridium sp., Nocardia sp.). The antifungal activity was also assayed against five fungal strains (Alternaria sp, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicanes, Rhodotorula sp. and Aspergillus flavus) kept under culture conditions, using the agar disc diffusion technique. Incubation of the nutrient agar and MacConkey agar plates for 24 hrs at 30°C was supplemented with ten test bacteria and five fungi along with 50 ml of ethanol, methanol, chloroform and diethyl ester extract revealed inhibitory effect. The highest inhibition zone (15 mm and 13 mm) was observed in ethanol and methanol extract of jellyfish (Porpita porpita) against gram+ve bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus sp.) and gram-ve bacteria (Psudomonas sp., Klebesiella pneumniae and Escherichia coli). The Aspergillus niger and Candida albicanes were shown equally good fungal activity....
External otitis is a diffuse inflammation around the external auditory canal and\nauricle, which is often occurred by microbial infection. This disease is generally treated\nusing antibiotics, but the frequent occurrence of antibiotic resistance requires the\ndevelopment of new antibiotic agents. In this context, unexplored bioactive natural\ncandidates could be a chance for the production of targeted drugs provided with\nantimicrobial activity. In this paper, microbial pathogens were isolated from patients with\nexternal otitis using ear swabs for over one year, and the antimicrobial activity of the\ntwo methanol extracts from selected marine (Dunaliella salina) and freshwater\n(Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) microalgae was tested on the isolated pathogens. Totally,\n114 bacterial and 11 fungal strains were isolated, of which Staphylococcus spp. (28.8%) and\nPseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) (24.8%) were the major pathogens. Only three\nStaphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strains and 11 coagulase-negative Staphylococci showed\nresistance to methicillin. The two algal extracts showed interesting antimicrobial properties,\nwhich mostly inhibited the growth of isolated S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, Escherichia coli,\nand Klebsiella spp. with MICs range of 1.4 Ã?â?? 109 to 2.2 Ã?â?? 1010 cells/mL. These results suggest\nthat the two algae have potential as resources for the development of antimicrobial agents....
Lactobacillus plantarum BET003 isolated from Momordica charantia fruit was\nused to ferment its juice. Momordica charantia fresh juice was able to support\ngood growth of the lactic acid bacterium. High growth rate and cell viability\nwere obtained without further nutrient supplementation. In stirred tank reactor\nbatch fermentation, agitation rate showed significant effect on specific growth\nrate of the bacterium in the fruit juice. After the fermentation, initially abundant\nmomordicoside 23-O-�²-Allopyranosyle-cucurbita-5,24-dien-7�±,3�²,22(R),23(S)-\ntetraol-3-O-�²-allopyranoside was transformed into its corresponding aglycone in\naddition to the emergence of new metabolites. The fermented M. charantia juice\nconsistently reduced glucose production by 27.2%, 14.5%, 17.1% and 19.2% at\n15-minute intervals respectively, when compared against the negative control. This\nputative anti-diabetic activity can be attributed to the increase in availability and\nconcentration of aglycones as well as other phenolic compounds resulting from\ndegradation of glycosidic momordicoside. Biotransformation of M. charantia fruit\njuice via lactic acid bacterium fermentation reduced its bitterness, reduced its sugar\ncontent, produced aglycones and other metabolites as well as improved its inhibition\nof �±-glucosidase activity compared with the fresh, non-fermented juice....
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a worldwide infection that affects millions of people. Some people develop only minor symptoms or even no symptoms at all, whereas others complain of terrible stomach and chest pain, diarrhea, bloating, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, headaches, depression, anxiety and rashes. H. pylori can be eradicated by using conventional medical treatments or a natural approach. However, both approaches can also fail miserably due to patient incompliance and antimicrobial resistance of the infecting H. pylori strain. Therefore, a non-antibiotic agent that is both effective and free from side effects might be of considerable importance for the eradication of H. pylori....
The purpose of this study was to investigate the primary mode of action of Cistus ladaniferus essential\noil active fractions on Staphylococcus aureus strain ATCC6538P (CIP 53.156). The mode of\ninhibition of the active fractions was assessed by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration\n(MIC). The effects of time on cell integrity were determined by time-kill, bacteriolysis and\nloss of 260 and 280-nm-absorbing material assays. Measurement of intra- and extracellular ATP\nwas used to evaluate the energy remaining in the cells after treatment. A bacteriostatic and a bactericidal\nmode of inhibition were established respectively for acetate and alcohol fractions at their\nMIC. No intracellular material leakage and no lysis occurred after treatments with these fractions.\nIn both cases, we observed a decrease of the ATP level within S. aureus cells whilst there was no\nproportional increase outside the cells. However, the effects induced by alcohols are more pronounced\nthan those provoked by acetates. Indeed, marked structural changes were observed by\ntransmission electron microscopy (TEM). The septal material of cells undergoing division became\nthicker and stained more lightly. The proportion of septa is also markedly increased and defective\nwith respect to placement. These observations suggest a blocking in cell division, probably caused\nby the inhibition of ATPase or a disturbance in proton motrice force by the hydrophobic molecules\nviridiflorol and ledol, mainly present in alcohol fraction....
Aim: To evaluate in vitro the effectiveness of several anti-infective agents alone and in combination\nagainst Leishmania donovani. Method: A convenient stratified sampling method was used to\nobtain selected anti-infective agents. For individual drug samples, Half Maximal Inhibitory Concentrations\n(IC50) were obtained using the broth dilution method. The IC50â��s of the drugs which\nwere active against L. donovani were used as reference values to prepare drug combinations for\nthe modified microdilution checkerboard method. Results: Five (5) out of the fifty-six (56) drugs\nused showed activity (inhibition of cell growth) against L. donovani cells. They include Quinine\nsulphate (IC50 = 0.089 �¼g/ml), gentamicin (IC50 = 8.1 �¼g/ml), amodiaquine (IC50 = 138 �¼g/ml) and\nthe two standard drugs: Amphotericin B (IC50 = 6.3 �¼g/ml) and Pentamidine (IC50 = 25 �¼g/ml). The\nremaining fifty-one (51) drugs did not show any inhibition within the range of concentrations\nused (1.25 - 160 �¼g/ml). The drug combinations of Pentamidine/Amodiaquine, Pentamidine/ Quinine\nsulphate, Pentamidine/Gentamicin, Amphotericin B/Quinine Sulphate, Amphotericin B/\nGentamicin, Amodiaquine/Quinine sulphate and Amodiaquine/Gentamicin showed synergistic\neffects against L. donovani whereas the Amphotericin B/Amodiaquine combination was antagonistic.\nNotable in the results obtained was the high effectiveness of quinine sulphate in inhibiting\nthe growth of L. donovani. Quinine sulphate, though not indicated for leishmania treatment, was\nmore effective than the two standard drugs and has a potential of playing a significant role in the\ntreatment of leishmaniasis. Conclusion: This study has revealed five (5) anti-infective agents that\nby themselves or in combinations show activity against L. donovani. Some of the drug combinations\nwhich showed synergism should further be investigated. These results have to be confirmed\nby in vivo studies to define their roles in leishmaniasis treatment....
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