The phytochemical screening of the ethanolic extracts of leaf and stem bark of Ficus sycomorus and Ficus platyphylla was carried out using standard biochemical methods. The antimicrobial activities (i.e. zones of inhibition) of the ethanolic extracts of leaf and stem bark of Ficus sycomorus and Ficus platyphylla against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, ciprofloxacin-resistant Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus were investigated under varying temperature, pH and storage duration of nine months. The zones of inhibition of the test plants extracts were evaluated using agar diffusion methods. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, anthraquinone, glycoside, alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids and reducing sugars. The effects of temperature and pH on the antimicrobial activity of the extracts of the plants remained relatively unaffected at P>0.05. There were no significant (P>0.05) changes in the antimicrobial activities of the extracts against the test organisms throughout the nine months period of investigation. The implications of these findings in the use of these plants are discussed.
The phytochemical screening of the water, methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of Alchornea cordifolia leaf using standard biochemical methods revealed the presence of tannins, saponin, flavonoid, alkaloid, glycoside and phenol. The antimicrobial activity of the water, methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of the Alchornea cordifolia leaf against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (isolate), Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145, Stapylococcus aureus (isolate), Stapylococcus aureus ATCC 12600, Escherichia coli (isolate), Escherichia coli ATCC 11775, Candida albicans (isolate) and Candida albicans ATCC 18804 using agar well diffusion and agar dilution methods was studied after a period of six months under different storage conditions. The antimicrobial activities of extracts stored in closed cupboard were relatively constant when compared with the fresh extracts, except methanol extract, which showed lower Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations against Candida albicans after six months. However exposure to light decreased the antimicrobial activities of the extracts with decrease in the diameter of zones of inhibition. The pH of the extract remained stable at 11.0-11.5. The implications of these findings in the use of Alchornea cordifolia leaf are discussed.
This study evaluated biofilm formation and antibiotic susceptibility in 36 clinical S. aureus isolates recovered from orthopaedic patients and detected the presence of intercellular adhesion and adhesin genes. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from nasal swab, wound and urine specimens collected from orthopaedic patients in National Orthopaedic Hospital Dala, Kano over a period of three months. The isolates were identified using rapid identification kit for Staphylococcus species. The antibiotics susceptibility of the isolates was determined using modified disc diffusion method. Phenotypically, the biofilm formation was assessed using the Congo red agar method and microtitre plate assay. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis was used to detect biofilm-associated genes and characterize the isolates. The isolation rate of S. aureus from the samples (n = 134) was 26.8%, mainly from nasal swab (36%) and wound swab (36%). A total of 19 (52.7%) of the isolates showed positive for slime production. Majority of the isolates 29/36 (81.6%) were biofilm positive with only 2 (5.5%) and 5 (13.8%) as strong biofilm-formers and moderate biofilm-formers respectively. Molecular evaluation of the biofilm-associated genes in 12 S. aureus isolates revealed the prevalence of bbp genes (25%), clfA genes (16.6%) and the icaA (8.3%). None of the isolates harboured the fnbA and cna genes. There is no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the antibiotic resistance pattern between biofilm-positive and biofilm-negative S. aureus isolates. This result revealed that phenotypically most of the S. aureus isolates were biofilm formers but few of them chromosomally harbour the biofilm-associated genes.
The antibacterial activity of benzoic acid and sodium benzoate was investigated against bacterial isolates from packaged orange drinks using agar well diffusion and broth dilution methods. The antibacterial activity of the test agents against the standard NCTC bacteria species was also tested. The bacterial count from the packaged orange drinks ranged from 3.0 x 10 5 cfu/ml and 1.43 x10 6 cfu/ml. The bacteria species detected consisted of Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Micrococcus sp. The zones of inhibition of benzoic acid ranged from 19.0 mm -31.5 mm while that of sodium benzoate ranged from 13.5 mm -36.5 mm. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the preservatives against the test bacteria ranged between 0.156 µg/ml and 0.625 µg/ml while the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) ranged between 0.313 µg/ml and 500 µg/ml. The preservatives were more effective against the Gram positive bacteria than the Gram negative bacteria. The preservatives at the concentration used in the examined drinks are inadequate to keep off indicator organisms and to ensure their safe consumption.
The aim of this work was to determine the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the Staphylococcus aureus isolates from orthopaedic patients and their plasmid carriage. A total number of 39 S. aureus were isolated from wound, skin and bed of orthopaedic patients in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria, Nigeria with the use of API STAPH identification kit. Antibiotics susceptibility test was done using disc agar diffusion test, plasmid analysis was also carried out. A high percentage (97.4%) of the S. aureus isolates were susceptible to both vancomycin and gentamicin followed by ciprofloxacin (94.9%) and pefloxacin (84.6%). The S. aureus isolates were highly resistant to the following antibiotics: ampicilin (94.9%), ceftriaxone (79.5%), cefoxitin (64.1%) and amoxicillin -clavulanic acid (59%). The antibiotic susceptibility tests showed that 29.4% of S. aureus with plasmids were multi-drug resistant being resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics. In the plasmid analysis 60.7% of the S. aureus isolates had plasmids with size range 9.2 to 13.3 kb. Plasmid-coded antibiotic resistance encompasses most classes of antibiotics commonly used at the forefront of clinical antibiotic therapy.
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