Problem Of Antimicrobial Resistance Research Articles

Hybrid technology for ecological remediation of agricultural wastewater from antibiotics

Increasing consumption of antibiotics in food production leads to intense environmental pollution and a global problem of antimicrobial resistance. Existing methods for cleaning environmental objects from antibiotics are laborious and costly. We analyzed and summarized the achievements in the field of phytoremediation of wastewater from farms and large agricultural enterprises, and developed a hybrid technology for its ecological rehabilitation based on phytoblocks in the form of phytoplants with submerged vegetation, sorption devices with hemp husks and plant microbial fuel cells. It is recommended to create local treatment facilities built into the landscape directly on farms, and at the same time generate electricity..

A quarterly Survey of antibiotic prescribing in small animal and equine practices-Minnesota and North Dakota, 2020.

Antimicrobials are critical for medicine, but the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effectiveness of these valuable drugs. In USA, there are no national- or state-level programs or policies in place to track antibiotic use (AU) in dogs, cats, and horses, despite acknowledgement of this sector's importance to both the AMR problem and its solution. AU measurement is a key part of antibiotic stewardship and AMR prevention. This study aimed to fill existing gaps in the veterinary professions' knowledge of antibiotic prescribing in small animals and horses. To address this aim, medical record data were collected on a single day per quarter for 1 year from 19 Minnesota and North Dakota small animal and equine practices, totaling 1,899 veterinarian consults of dogs, cats, and horses. Overall, 25.8% of all canine, feline, and equine consults involved an antibiotic prescription. Third-generation cephalosporins were the most commonly prescribed systemic antibiotic drug class, and the long-acting injectable drug, cefovecin, was the most commonly prescribed antibiotic for cats (34.5%). Topical antibiotic preparations were prescribed frequently, especially in dogs (42.5% of canine prescriptions), though systemic antibiotics were often prescribed concurrently. Common general indications, based on problem or diagnosis recorded in the medical record, for antibiotics in all species combined were skin conditions (24.4%), otitis (22.1%), ophthalmic (9.4%), gastrointestinal (8.3%), respiratory (8.3%), and urinary tract (7.6%) diseases. While 44.2% of patients for which antibiotics were prescribed had cytology performed, only 3.9% had bacterial culture and susceptibility performed. In a pre-study survey, veterinarians' recommendations for AU differed from actual prescribing, suggesting collection of AU data provides more accurate assessments of veterinary prescribing behaviour than surveys. This study shows feasibility of AU measurement in small animals and horses. The data collection tool and standard operating procedures described prove suitable for national AU data collection.

Ethnobotanical, phytochemical and antimicrobial activity of Halexylon salicornicum (Ramth) as a graze and promising shrub against selected animal microbes

Folk medicine, including plants, has been utilized for humans and animals since the dawn of civilization. Because of the widespread problem of antimicrobial resistance around the world, one of the mainly significant challenges in microbiological research is to achieve a replacement antibiotic with the fewest adverse effects. Camel and ruminant grazing were provided by the wild shrub Halexylon salicornicum (Ramth). However, despite prior research demonstrating its antimicrobial action against human diseases, no investigations on its antimicrobial activity against animal pathogens have been conducted to far. The goal of this study is to investigate whether Halexylon salicornicum aqueous and solvent extracts have antimicrobial activity on a variety of animal pathogens isolated from cattle and poultry using the agar well diffusion method (Enterococcus faecium, Shigella flexneri, Bacillus Cereus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pyogens, Pseudomonas aerogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, and Candida albicans) moreover it's ethnobotanical and phytochemical. All of the extracts tested had antimicrobial efficacy against tested strains and included bioactive chemicals, particularly the acetone extract, had the highest antibacterial activity. As a result, it can be stated that Halexylon salicornicum is a promising important shrub that might be used as a natural antimicrobial alternative for animals or as a food additive.

CABGen: A Web Application for the Bioinformatic Analysis of Bacterial Genomes.

Due to recent developments in NGS technologies, genome sequencing is generating large volumes of new data containing a wealth of biological information. Understanding sequenced genomes in a biologically meaningful way and delineating their functional and metabolic landscapes is a first-level challenge. Considering the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problem, investments to expand surveillance and improve existing genome analysis technologies are pressing. In addition, the speed at which new genomic data is generated surpasses our capacity to analyze it with available bioinformatics methods, thus creating a need to develop new, user-friendly and comprehensive analytical tools. To this end, we propose a new web application, CABGen,1 developed with open-source software. CABGen allows storing, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting bioinformatics data in a friendly, scalable, easy-to-use environment and can process data from bacterial isolates of different species and origins. CABGen has three modules: Upload Sequences, Analyze Sequences, and Verify Results. Functionalities include coverage estimation, species identification, de novo genome assembly, and assembly quality, genome annotation, MLST mapping, searches for genes related to AMR, virulence, and plasmids, and detection of point mutations in specific AMR genes. Visualization tools are also available, greatly facilitating the handling of biological data. The reports include those results that are clinically relevant. To illustrate the use of CABGen, whole-genome shotgun data from 181 bacterial isolates of different species collected in 5 Brazilian regions between 2018 and 2020 were uploaded and submitted to the platform’s modules.

Emergence of nutriments as a nascent complementary therapy against antimicrobial resistance.

With these growing and evolving years, antimicrobial resistance has become a great subject of interest. The idea of using natural productive ways can be an effective measure against antimicrobial resistance. The growing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance indicates that advanced natural approaches are a topic of concern for fighting the resistance. Many natural products including essential oils, flavonoids, alkaloids and botanicals have been demonstrated as effective bactericidal agents. In this review, we will discuss in detail about the relevance of such natural products to tackle the problem of antimicrobial resistance, antibiotic adjuvants that aim towards non-essential bacterial targets to reduce the prevalence of resistant bacterial infections, latest bioinformatics approach towards antibacterial drug discovery along with an understanding of biogenic nanoparticles in antimicrobial activity.

The Implementation of National Action Plan (NAP) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Bangladesh: Challenges and Lessons Learned from a Cross-Sectional Qualitative Study.

This study explored the current situation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) implementation in Bangladesh and examined how different sectors (human, animal, and environment) addressed the AMR problem in policy and practice, as well as associated challenges and barriers to identifying policy lessons and practices. Informed by a rapid review of the available literature and following the World Health Organization (WHO) AMR situation analysis framework, a guideline was developed to conduct in-depth interviews with selected stakeholders from January to December 2021. Data were analysed using an adapted version of Anderson’s governance framework. Findings reveal the absence of required inter-sectoral coordination essential to a multisectoral approach. There was substantial coordination between the human health and livestock/fisheries sectors, but the environment sector was conspicuously absent. The government initiated some hospital-based awareness programs and surveillance activities, yet no national Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework was established for NAP activities. Progress of implementation was slow, constrained by the shortage of a trained health workforce and financial resources, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. To summarise, five years into the development of the NAP in Bangladesh, its implementation is not up to the level that the urgency of the situation requires. The policy and practice need to be cognisant of this fact and do the needful things to avoid a catastrophe.

Evaluation of Novel Quorum Sensing Inhibitors Targeting Auto-Inducer 2 (AI-2) for the Control of Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Infections in Chickens.

ABSTRACTAvian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) associated with colibacillosis results in high morbidity and mortality, and severe economic losses to the poultry industry. APEC is a zoonotic pathogen and can infect humans through contaminated poultry products. Vaccination and antibiotic treatment are currently used to control APEC infections; however, the limited effect of vaccines and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains have necessitated the development of novel therapeutics. Here, we evaluated seven quorum sensing inhibitors (QSI) identified in our previous study, in APEC-infected chickens. QSIs were administered orally (~92 to 120 μg/bird) and chickens were challenged subcutaneously with APEC. Among them, QSI-5 conferred the best protection (100% reduction in mortality, 82% to 93% reduction in lesions [airsacculitis, perihepatitis, lung congestion, pericarditis] severity, and 5.2 to 6.1 logs reduction in APEC load). QSI-5 was further tested in chickens raised on built-up floor litter using an optimized dose (1 mg/L) in drinking water. QSI-5 reduced the mortality (88.4%), lesion severity (72.2%), and APEC load (2.8 logs) in chickens, which was better than the reduction observed with currently used antibiotic sulfadimethoxine (SDM; mortality 35.9%; lesion severity up to 36.9%; and APEC load up to 2.4 logs). QSI-5 was detected in chicken's blood after 0.5 h with no residues in muscle, liver, and kidney. QSI-5 increased the body weight gain with no effect on the feed conversion ratio and cecal microbiota of the chickens. Metabolomic studies revealed reduced levels of 5′-methylthioadenosine in QSI-5-treated chicken serum. In conclusion, QSI-5 displayed promising effects in chickens and thus, represents a novel anti-APEC therapeutic.IMPORTANCE Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), a subgroup of ExPEC, is a zoonotic pathogen with public health importance. Quorum sensing is a mechanism that regulates virulence, biofilm formation, and pathogenesis in bacteria. Here, we identified a novel quorum sensing autoinducer-2 inhibitor, QSI-5, which showed higher anti-APEC efficacy in chickens compared to the currently used antibiotic, sulfadimethoxine at a much lower dose (up to 4,500 times). QSI-5 is readily absorbed with no residues in the tissues. QSI-5 also increased the chicken’s body weight gain and did not impact the cecal microbiota composition. Overall, QSI-5 represents a promising lead compound for developing novel anti-virulence therapies with significant implications for treating APEC infections in chickens as well as other ExPEC associated infections in humans. Further identification of its target(s) and understanding the mechanism of action of QSI-5 in APEC will add to the future novel drug development efforts that can overcome the antimicrobial resistance problem.

Comparative evaluation of antibacterial potentials of nano cobalt oxide with standard antimicrobials

Development of suitable potent antimicrobial is the urgent need of modern era to cope up the problem of antimicrobial resistance. The applications of nanotechnology in metal oxides have shown favorable effects to some extent in this area. Thus, the present study was investigated to evaluate the antibacterial properties of cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanoparticles at different concentrations and their comparison with standard antimicrobials i.e. tetracycline and gentamicin. Nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by standard techniques. The antibacterial potentials of Co3O4 nanoparticles against S. aureus and E. coli were determined at various concentrations. The maximum zone of inhibitions of Co3O4 nanoparticles against S. aureus and E. coli at 500 μg/ml were 21.17 mm and 24.00 mm, respectively. The Co3O4 nanoparticles seemed more effective than gentamicin against S. aureus and E. coli. The nanoparticles with respect to tetracycline showed higher than 1 activity index at ≥ 125 μg/ml for E. coli and ≥31.25 μg/ml for S. aureus. It was also higher than 1 at all compared concentrations with respect to gentamicin against both bacteria. In conclusion, Co3O4 nanoparticles seemed to have potent antibacterial potential and these might be very helpful to replace the conventional antimicrobials to solve the problem of antibacterial resistance.

The Role of Antimicrobial Peptides as Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Agents in Tackling the Silent Pandemic of Antimicrobial Resistance.

Just over a million people died globally in 2019 due to antibiotic resistance caused by ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species). The World Health Organization (WHO) also lists antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter and Helicobacter as bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health. As it is becoming increasingly difficult to discover new antibiotics, new alternatives are needed to solve the crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Bacteria commonly found in complex communities enclosed within self-produced matrices called biofilms are difficult to eradicate and develop increased stress and antimicrobial tolerance. This review summarises the role of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in combating the silent pandemic of AMR and their application in clinical medicine, focusing on both the advantages and disadvantages of AMPs as antibiofilm agents. It is known that many AMPs display broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, but in a variety of organisms AMPs are not stable (short half-life) or have some toxic side effects. Hence, it is also important to develop new AMP analogues for their potential use as drug candidates. The use of one health approach along with developing novel therapies using phages and breakthroughs in novel antimicrobial peptide synthesis can help us in tackling the problem of AMR.

Study of effect of betel leaves (Piper Betel) on β-lactamase producing pathogens

The increasing resistance to antimicrobials among pathogens demands new strategies for management of infectious diseases. In this respect, use of combination therapy and/or use of herbal compounds are more likely to result in successful therapeutic outcomes. In the current study, solvent extracts of Piper betel leaves were tested for antibacterial activity against pathogenic β-Lactamase producing strains as well as common laboratory cultures. The bioactive compounds from betel leaves were extracted with the help of Soxhlet apparatus at 60°C to obtain a semi-solid mass using different solvents such as ethanol, methanol, acetone and water. The antibacterial activity of solvent extracts of P. betel leaves was evidently confirmed by the observed zones of inhibition in the range of 11-26mm. The Minimum bactericidal concentration of methanol extract of P. betel leaves was also determined and it was found to be 10mg/ml. Moreover, the sub-inhibitory concentrations of methanol extracts of P. betel leaves successfully lowered the MBC of ampicillin from 10mg/mL to 300µg/ml, indicating a synergistic activity. Furthermore, they also showed a moderate anti-oxidant property suggested by the calculated DPPH scavenging activity. In addition, the GC-MS analysis of methanol extract of P. betel leaves was carried out and it showed the presence of various bioactive compounds including benzoic acid, pyrazine, coumaran and 4-vinyl-gluacol. These results suggest the potential of P. betel leaves as a source of remedy towards the problem of antimicrobial resistance.

Identifying the spatiotemporal vulnerability of soils to antimicrobial contamination through land application of animal manure in Minnesota, United States

Antimicrobials may reach the soil environment from a variety of sources and pathways, including land application of human biosolids and animal manure. Once in soil, antimicrobials can affect the abundance and activity of soil microorganisms and exert selection pressures that enhance the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To mitigate the spread of AMR it is important to understand the spatial and temporal interactions between antimicrobials and soil. The goal of this study was to assess the vulnerability of Minnesota (U.S.) soil to contamination with specific antimicrobial compounds at temperatures experienced throughout the year. Soil contamination potential was estimated based upon specific antimicrobial drug binding and permanence, and average monthly temperature. Minnesota soil vulnerability was estimated by incorporating spatially explicit soil contamination potential, land cover type, and livestock density. Assessment of antimicrobials used in livestock production showed that soils are most vulnerable to antimicrobial contamination in southwestern Minnesota, to enrofloxacin, chlortetracycline, and oxytetracycline, and in the months of April and October. While the assessment herein was not based on actual on-farm antimicrobial use data and subsequent excretion of antimicrobial metabolites into the environment, this study provides an overview of the spatial and temporal potential for Minnesota soil to be contaminated by several antimicrobial drugs and demonstrates how specific vulnerability assessments might be conducted for geographic areas with known exposure (e.g., cropland fertilized with livestock manure and/or human biosolids). Such assessments might be used to identify best practices for mitigating antimicrobial exposure to soils and guide additional research to understand the role of environmental antimicrobial contamination in the problem of AMR.

Combating antimicrobial resistance: an evidence-based overview of bacteriophage therapy.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problems cause an enormous challenge to our world in medicine and in agriculture and many other fields. The current situation makes bacteriophage therapy an attractive therapeutic candidate. Nevertheless, very limited clinical trials on bacteriophage therapy were performed and completed as of presence. Bacteriophage therapy alludes to infecting bacteria with a virus, this often results in a bactericidal effect. The compiled studies support the feasibility of treating AMR with bacteriophage. However, the efficacy of specific bacteriophage strains and the accurate dosage have to be further studied and tested rigorously.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices about Antimicrobial Usage and Resistance Among the Second-Year MBBS Students

Antibiotic resistance is the burning issue and to curtail it is the need of the time, efforts are going on in all the direction. It is essential to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of the medical undergraduate about the antimicrobial use and resistance for doing modifications in the current methods of teaching for encouraging the rational use. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of self medication practices of antibiotics among the second year medical students. To evaluate the knowledge of medical students about antibiotic resistance. To explore the solutions to curb the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. Material and Methods: A Cross sectional, Unicentric, observational, questionnaire based survey study carried out from June 2021 to Sept 2021. Conventional sample method was used and phase II MBBS students willing to take part in the study were included. After obtaining the IEC clearance study was started. Questionnaire was prepared consisting of the various aspects like knowledge, attitude and perception of the antimicrobial use and resistance. The questionnaire was validated by subject experts for its content and relevance and the necessary changes were incorporated in the final one. The questionnaire was distributed as a Google form before they receive any teaching on antibiotics in their pharmacology classes as a Pre-test and after the exposure as post-test. Participation was voluntary and they were asked to complete the questionnaire anonymously. Returning of the completed Google form was accepted as consent by the participating students. Statistical analysis done with software SPSS. Results: Students had the knowledge about antibiotics and resistance. They had consumed it in last one year and completed the course of the antibiotics is the positive outcome. Small number shows confusion about use during viral infection, in pain, during cough& cold. Causes of antibiotic resistance needs special attention. In 20% it was not clear that skipping the doses can contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Conclusion: Repeated knowledge intervention are essential to increase the awareness of the problem arising due to the irrational use even to the undergraduate students.

Assessment of Farmer’s Knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance, Their Practice of Antimicrobial Usage and Biosecurity Status of Poultry Farms in Kathmandu Valley and Chitwan District, Nepal

The poultry industry has transformed into one of the vibrant economic activities in Nepal, contributing to almost 4% of the national GDP. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among the poultry farmers of Kathmandu valley and Chitwan district to assess their knowledge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR); their practice of antimicrobial usage and the biosecurity status of their poultry farms. The survey was done to understand the level of knowledge gap among the farmers regarding successful poultry farming with strict biosecurity protocol and minimal use of antibiotics. A semi-structured questionnaire was prepared to interview a total of 112 farmers, with 56 respondents from each study sites. Only nineteen percent (11/56) of the farmers from the Kathmandu valley and 16% (9/56) of that of Chitwan district knew about the antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Doxycycline (25.9%, 29/112) was the most used antibiotic followed by Tylosin (21.5%, 24/112), Colistin (18.75%, 21/112), Ciprofloxacin (13.4%, 15/112) and Neomycin (12.5%, 14/112) in both districts. Majority of the surveyed respondents lacked the proper awareness regarding the importance of considerate use of antimicrobial drugs, effectiveness of implementing proper biosecurity protocols in the farms, and the increasing challenge of AMR in the present world scenario. The findings and results of this survey identify the critical gaps in the knowledge of the farmers concerning the day-to-day operations in their poultry business. Immediate strategic actions and road-maps are required to solve the burgeoning problem of AMR considering the imprudent use of antibiotics in the poultry sector. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 10(1): 50-59.

Essential Topics for the Regulatory Consideration of Phages as Clinically Valuable Therapeutic Agents: A Perspective from Spain.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the major challenges that humankind shall face in the short term. (Bacterio)phage therapy is a valuable therapeutic alternative to antibiotics and, although the concept is almost as old as the discovery of phages, its wide application was hindered in the West by the discovery and development of antibiotics in the mid-twentieth century. However, research on phage therapy is currently experiencing a renaissance due to the antimicrobial resistance problem. Some countries are already adopting new ad hoc regulations to favor the short-term implantation of phage therapy in clinical practice. In this regard, the Phage Therapy Work Group from FAGOMA (Spanish Network of Bacteriophages and Transducing Elements) recently contacted the Spanish Drugs and Medical Devices Agency (AEMPS) to promote the regulation of phage therapy in Spain. As a result, FAGOMA was asked to provide a general view on key issues regarding phage therapy legislation. This review comes as the culmination of the FAGOMA initiative and aims at appropriately informing the regulatory debate on phage therapy.

Discovery of Highly Active Derivatives of Daptomycin by Assessing the Effect of Amino Acid Substitutions at Positions 8 and 11 on a Daptomycin Analogue.

Daptomycin is an important antibiotic used for treating serious infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Establishing structure-activity relationships of daptomycin is important for developing new daptomycin-based antibiotics with expanded clinical applications and for tackling the ever-increasing problem of antimicrobial resistance. Toward this end, Dap-K6-E12-W13, an active analogue of daptomycin in which the uncommon amino acids in daptomycin are replaced with their common counterparts, was used as a model system for studying the effect of amino acid variation at positions 8 and 11 on in vitro biological activity against a model organism, Bacillus subtilis, and calcium-dependent insertion into model membranes. None of the new peptides were more active than Dap-K6-E12-W13; however, substitution at positions 8 and/or 11 with cationic residues resulted in little or no loss of activity, and some of these analogues were able to insert into model membranes at lower calcium ion concentrations than the parent peptide. Incorporation of these cationic residues into positions 8 and/or 11 of daptomycin itself yielded some derivatives that exhibited lower minimum inhibitory concentrations than daptomycin against B. subtilis 1046 as well as comparable and sometimes superior activity against clinical isolates of MRSA.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Streptococcus suis Isolated from Diseased Pigs in Thailand, 2018-2020.

Streptococcus suis is a porcine and zoonotic pathogen that causes severe systemic infection in humans and pigs. The treatment of S. suis infection relies on antibiotics; however, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an urgent global problem, pushing research attention on the surveillance of antibiotic-resistant S. suis to the fore. This study investigated the antimicrobial susceptibility of 246 S. suis strains isolated from diseased pigs in Thailand from 2018–2020. The major sources of S. suis strains were lung and brain tissues. PCR-based serotyping demonstrated that the most abundant serotype was serotype 2 or ½, followed by serotypes 29, 8, 9, and 21. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the distribution of AMR S. suis serotype 29 in diseased pigs. The antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations of 35 antimicrobial agents. The results showed that important antimicrobial agents for human use, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, daptomycin, ertapenem, meropenem, and vancomycin, were the most effective drugs. However, a slight decrease in the number of S. suis strains susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and vancomycin raised awareness of the AMR problem in the future. The data indicated a tendency of reduced efficacy of available veterinary medicines, including ampicillin, cefepime, cefotaxime, ceftiofur, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, florfenicol, gentamicin, penicillin, and tiamulin, for the treatment of S. suis infection, thus emphasizing the importance of the prudent use of antibiotics. The widespread of multidrug-resistant S. suis strains was identified in all serotypes and from different time periods and different regions of the country, confirming the emergence of the AMR problem in the diseased pig-isolated S. suis population.

A Review on Antimicrobial Activity of Tarunyapidikahara Lepa Ingredients

Skin is not only a protecting covering of our whole body but also it reflects the physical and mental health. Mukhdushika is the most common skin ailment in the teenage of youngsters, it disfigure the face. Acne vulgaris is chronic inflammatory condition of the pilosebacous follicles and caused by the Propionibacteriun acnes. It is correlated with Mukhdushika, a disease mention in Ayurveda. Microbial infections are the leading cause of diseases and disease related mortality. Non–judicious intake of antibiotic is the serious concern for antibiotic resistant strain of bacteria. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the ability to successfully treat infectious diseases across the world. Among the most common skin pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa (gram-negative pathogen) has high antibiotic resistance rate and Staphylococcus aureus is another most common human pathogens that leads to many types of local infections such as wound, post-operative infection and also for prosthetic infections. S. aureus is also known for its ability to resist antibiotics such as penicillin, methicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin and vancomycin, so there is a need of different treatment to overcome the problem of AMR. Similar problem is also arises in the treatment of acne by antibiotics. Tarunyapidikahara Lepa is an Ayurvedic formulation consisting of equal amount of Lodhra (Symplocos racemosa Roxb), Dhanakya (Coriandrum sativum Linn.) and Vacha (Acorus calamus Linn) prescribed for topical application in Mukhdusika in renowned text Chakradatta, Kshudra Roga Chikitsa. This appraisal summarizes the antimicrobial potential of each ingredient present in the Tarunyapidikhara Lepa.

IN VITRO ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF GREEN TEA EXTRACT AGAINST MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT BACTERIA

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of green tea (Camellia sinensis) against multidrug-resistant strains of the pathogenic bacteria: Extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae, Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), and Metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the antibacterial activity of ethanolic extract of commercial green tea against the 23 multidrug-resistant test strains was evaluated by the Agar well diffusion method, and the minimum inhibitory concentration of the extract for the test strains was determined by Agar plate dilution method. Results: Ethanolic extract of green tea was found to exhibit a remarkably significant antimicrobial activity against the ATCC (American type culture collection) control strains: E. coli ATCC 25922 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 with slightly higher activity against later as compared to the former. The extract exhibited a significant antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. The highest activity was shown against ESBL producing strains, followed by CRE strains and the least activity against MBL producers. Conclusion: This study strongly depicts that the ethanolic extract of green tea exhibits significant antibacterial activity even against multidrug-resistant strains. Hence, such plant extracts could be a potential source of bioactive lead compounds that could be utilized in developing herbal antimicrobials as an alternative strategy for tackling the problem of antimicrobial resistance.

World Tuberculosis Day 2022: aligning COVID-19 and tuberculosis innovations to save lives and to end tuberculosis

World Tuberculosis Day 2022: aligning COVID-19 and tuberculosis innovations to save lives and to end tuberculosis