Prevalence of resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains in frozen meat and their control using phytosynthesized selenium nanoparticles

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus continually threatens the safety of meat products, especially the multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. The screening of MDR S. aureus prevalence in marketed meat products in Saudi Arabia was conducted via molecular identification of resistance genes (cfr, gyrA, and gyrB) that occurred in isolated bacteria. The green phytosynthesis of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) was also conducted, using the fruits’ extract of Phyllanthus Emblica (PeE), for their evaluation as antibacterial nanocomposites against MDR S. aureus isolates. The prevalence percentage (PP) of S. aureus in meat samples was 14.2%, where the MDR S. aureus prevalence was 9.2%. The highest prevalence of S. aureus isolates was attained from minced meat samples, whereas the highest PP for multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. aureus was recorded from sausages samples. The PeE-synthesized Se-NPs had negative charges, spherical shapes, and well-disperssion with mean diameters of 11.98 nm. The anti- S. aureus activities of PeE, phytosynthesized Se-NPs, and their composite (PeE/Se-NPs) were proved qualitatively and quantitatively against the different standard and MDR strains, the antibacterial action of PeE/Se-NPs was the strongest. The treatment of MDR S. aureus with PeE/Se-NPs led to severe cells’ lyses/explosion after 8 h of exposure. The nanocomposites from PeE/Se-NPs are recommended for controlling MDR S. aureus in meat.