Abstract
Pheretima posthuma (Vaillant, 1868), a native earthworm of Pakistan and Southeast Asia, has wide utilization in vermicomposting and bioremediation process. In this study, P. posthuma coelomic fluid (PCF) and body paste (PBP) was evaluated as antibacterial agent against ampicillin (AMP) resistant five Gram positive and four Gram negative clinical isolates. The antibacterial effect of different doses (i.e. 25-100 µg/ml) of PCF and PBP along with AMP and azithromycin (AZM) (negative and positive controls, respectively) were observed through disc diffusion and micro-dilution methods. All nine clinical isolates were noticed as AMP resistant and AZM sensitive. Antibacterial effects of PCF and PBP were dose dependent and zone of inhibitions (ZI) against all clinical isolates were between 23.4 ± 0.92 to 0 ± 00 mm. The sensitivity profile of PCF and PBP against clinical isolates was noticed as 44.44 and 55.56%, respectively. Both PCF and PBP showed bacteriostatic (BTS) action against S. aureus, S. pyogenes, K. pneumonia, N. gonorrhoeae. Moreover, the cumulative BTS potential of PCF and PBP against all isolates was 66.67 and 55.56%, respectively. The MICs of PCF and PBP were ranged from 50-200 µg/ml against selected isolates. The bacterial growth curves indicated that PCF and PBP inhibited the growth of all isolates at their specific MIC concentrations. However, PBP has better antibacterial potential compared to PCF against selected isolates. Therefore, it is concluded that both PCF and PBP of P. posthuma possess antibacterial and BTS potential against ampicillin resistant clinical isolates. This organism might be considered as a second choice of antibacterial agents and can further be utilized in pharmaceutical industries for novel drug manufacturing by prospecting bioactive potential agents.
Highlights
Earthworms are reddish to dark brown, tubular, segmented and macro-invertebrate oligochaete worms found in soil
The antibacterial and bacteriostatic aspects of posthuma coelomic fluid (PCF) and posthuma Body Paste (PBP) extracted from P. posthuma were assessed against ampicillin resistant five Gram +ve (B. cereus, S. aureus, S. pyogenes, P. aeruginosa and B. pumilus) and four Gram –ve (K. pneumonia, P. putida, N. gonorrhoeae and E. coli) clinical isolates by ampicillin sensitivity test (AST), antibacterial assay, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) test and bacteriostatic assay
Results indicated that PBP has higher antibacterial potential than PCF because larger zone of inhibitions (ZI) were observed against clinical isolates using PBP
Summary
Earthworms are reddish to dark brown, tubular, segmented and macro-invertebrate oligochaete worms found in soil. The natural processes of earthworms are frequently used to reduce pollutants (i.e. heavy metals) by bioremediation (Wang et al, 2018; Selvi et al, 2019) and to degrade toxic compounds through gut enzymes and microbial agents (Rudi et al, 2009; Byzov et al, 2015; Liu et al, 2018). They are used as big source of protein and widely used in poultry and fish industry as source of food (Sogbesan et al 2007; Parolini et al 2020). Earthworm’s tissue extracts, coelomic fluid and body paste possess various agents (i.e. proteins) that have been well documented as antiulcer (Prakash et al, 2007), anti-coagulant (Popoviæ et al, 2001), antiviral (Liu et al, 2012), antibacterial (Aydoğdu and Çotuk, 2008; Balamurugan et al, 2010; Chauhan et al, 2014), antifungal (Vasanthi et al, 2013), antitumor (Cooper et al, 2004; Chen et al, 2007; Hua et al, 2011; Augustine et al, 2018), anti-inflammatory (Balamurugan et al, 2007; Mathur et al, 2011), cytotoxic (Rudrammaji et al, 2008; Endharti et al, 2019), antipyretic and analgesic agents (Prakash and Gunasekaran, 2011)
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