Abstract
Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are largely preceded by colonization with MRSA. Hochuekkito is the formula composing 10 herbal medicines in traditional Kampo medicine to treat infirmity and to stimulate immune functions. We evaluated the efficacy of hochuekkito extract (HET) against MRSA colonization using a nasal infection murine model. Methods: We evaluated the effects of HET as follows: (1) the growth inhibition by measuring turbidity of bacterial culture in vitro, (2) the nasal colonization of MRSA by measuring bacterial counts, and (3) the splenocyte proliferation in mice orally treated with HET by the 3H-thymidine uptake assay. Results: HET significant inhibited the growth of MRSA. The colony forming unit (CFU) in the nasal fluid of HET-treated mice was significantly lower than that of HET-untreated mice. When each single crude drug—Astragali radix, Bupleuri radix, Zingiberis rhizoma, and Cimicifugae rhizome—was removed from hochuekkito formula, the effect of the formula significantly weakened. The uptake of 3H-thymidine into murine splenocytes treated with HET was significantly higher than that from untreated mice. The effects of the modified formula described above were also significantly weaker than those of the original formula. Conclusions: Hochuekkito is effective for the treatment of MRSA nasal colonization in the murine model. We suggest HET as the therapeutic candidate for effective therapy on nasal cavity colonization of MRSA in humans.
Highlights
Staphylococcus aureus infection, such as surgical site infection, is a common hospital-associated infectious disease
We tried to evaluate whether or not hochuekkito extract (HET) could inhibit the growth of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
MRSA was grown in LB medium with or without HET, and the inhibitory ability of bacterial growth was assessed
Summary
Staphylococcus aureus infection, such as surgical site infection, is a common hospital-associated infectious disease. It causes the extension of hospital stays and increases the costs of health-care [1]. Nasal colonization is an important risk factor for S. aureus infection. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are largely preceded by colonization with MRSA. We evaluated the efficacy of hochuekkito extract (HET) against MRSA colonization using a nasal infection murine model. Methods: We evaluated the effects of HET as follows: (1) the growth inhibition by measuring turbidity of bacterial culture in vitro, (2) the nasal colonization of MRSA by measuring bacterial counts, and (3) the splenocyte proliferation in mice orally treated with HET by the 3 H-thymidine uptake assay. The colony forming unit (CFU) in the nasal fluid of HET-treated mice was significantly lower than that of HET-untreated mice
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