Background Escherichia coli like other Enterobactericeae are frequent isolates implicated in food-borne diseases. The prevalence of multi-drug resistant E. coli isolates from street vended fruits and its salad is on the increase across Nigeria. This study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity Tetrapleura tetraptera (Uyayak) against E. coli as well as the druggability and pharmacokinetics of its bioactive compounds using in-silico and in-vitro approaches. Methods We utilized previously reported standard protocols in the isolation, characterization and the identification of the isolates, and the collection and preparation of the T. tetraptera pods. Antimicrobial activity of the extracts was done using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Resulting bioactive compounds from gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS) were converted into canonical stings and used to for target prediction in humans and ADMET properties using the SWISSADME and pkCSM tools. Bioactive compounds that met Lipinski’s rule of five (ROF) were subjected to molecular docking against dihydropteroate synthase of E. coli using the AutoDock vina tool and the resulting interactions visualized in 2-D via Biovia Discovery Studio 21. Results The GC-MS analysis returned a total of twenty-eight (28) bioactive compounds. The abundance of the E. coli isolates varied according to location and fruit types. At trimethoprim and extracts concentrations of < 100mg/ml and < 100% respectively, the isolates showed resistance. A total of 13 bioactive compound showed zero violations to Lipinski’s rule of five (ROF). ADMET analysis of the screened bioactive compounds showed favourable absorption (intestinal and water solubility) and toxicity (AMES and hepatoxicity) profiles than trimethoprim. Molecular docking revealed various amino residues interacting with dihydropteroate synthase and gave docking scores that ranged from − 4.0 to -5.3 kcal/mole for the bioactive compounds and − 6.5 5 kcal/mole for trimethoprim. Target prediction showed that all the bioactive are capable of reaching various targets with nuclear receptor being the most abundant target. Conclusion The bioactive compounds of T. tetraptera examined in this study showed favourable antimicrobial activity against E. coli, docking scores and pharmacokinetics, suggesting the need for further studies to validate their potential as antimetabolites for management of pathogenic E. coli infections.
Background: Malaria and intestinal parasitosis is a public health problem among diabetic patients, therefore, this work evaluates the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection and malaria co-infections in diabetics. Materials and Methods Capillary blood and fecal samples were collected from 190 diabetic patients at the outpatient clinic of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital and Navy Reference Hospital Calabar and another batch of capillary blood and fecal samples from 110 non-diabetic subjects. The stool samples were examined macroscopically and microscopically by direct smear and formol- ether concentration method and also stained by modified Ziehl- Neelsen acid fast stain. The thick and thin blood film were stained with 10% Giemsa stain and viewed microscopically. Result: Amongst the test subjects, malaria parasites had a prevalence rate of 30 (15.8%), intestinal parasites had a prevalence rate of 48 (25.3%), and prevalence of co-infection with malaria parasites and intestinal parasites were 8 (4.2%), the difference was statistically significant (p= 0.036). Amongst the non-diabetic subjects, prevalence of malaria parasites was 12 (10.9%), intestinal parasites had a prevalent rate of 12 (10.9%) and a co-infection prevalence rate of 12 (3.6%). Amongst the diabetic patients, subjects aged 21-30 years had the highest infection rate of 14 (70.0%) for malaria parasites while 31-40 years had the highest infection of 8 (57.1%) for intestinal parasites the difference was statistically significant p = 0.0001. Amongst the non-diabetic subjects, age group 31-40 had the highest prevalence rate for malaria parasites 4(28.6%) and intestinal parasites 6(42.9%), while age group 31-40 and 41-50 had the highest prevalent rates of 2(14.3%) for co-infection. Amongst the diabetic patients, male subjects had a higher prevalence rates for malaria parasites, intestinal parasites and co-infection of 20(33.3%), 26(43.3%) and 6(10.0%) respectively which was statistically significant (p= 0.001). For the non-diabetic subjects, females had a higher prevalence rate for malaria infection 8(13.3%), while males had a higher prevalence rate for intestinal parasites and co-infection of 8(16.0%) and 4(8.0%) respectively, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.250). Hookworm was the most observed parasite, 18(37.5%), Ascaris lumbricoides, 14 (29.2%), Cryptosporidium parvum, 8 (16.7%), Cyclospora cayetanensis, 4 (8.3%), Trichuris trichiura, 2 (4.2%) and Microsporidia, 2 (4.2%). Conclusion: Based on findings in this study, this work has shown a prevalence of intestinal parasites (25.3%), and prevalence of malaria infection (15.8%) in diabetic subjects; and this study also illustrate the prevalence of malaria and intestinal parasitic co- infection of 4.2%, and the need to put in place strategies for the control of the parasite among this group of patients.
Raw milk is a milk that has not undergone pasteurization for an effective pathogen elimination, thus having a reduced shelf life due to microbial activities. Microorganisms such as bacteria can affect the quality of diary products, hence the need to assess the microbial quality of natural cow milk, pasteurized milk and processed tin-milk which are consumed on daily basis in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. In this study, raw (unpasteurized) and processed milk samples from two locations (Bogobiri and Watt market) in Calabar municipal were analyzed using methylene blue reduction test (MBRT), total heterotrophic bacterial count (THBC) and total coliform count (TCC). The total Heterotrophic bacterial count ranged from too numerous to count (TNTC) to 3.86 x 106 colony forming unit (CFU)/milliliter (ml) in samples MA (Unpasteurized/Raw cow milk) and MB (Pasteurized cow milk) respectively. There was no fungal growth in five of the samples except MA that had a fungal count that was TNTC. The highest TCC was obtained from sample MA, with a value of 2.96 x 106 CFU/mL while sample MD had the lowest count of one colony. The total microbial count from sample MA was extremely high and above the standard signifying that it is unfit for human consumption. The MBRT result revealed that MD (Processed liquid tin-milk) and MC (Processed liquid tin-milk) gave no methylene blue reduction (excellent quality) while MB (Pasteurized cow milk), ME (Processed liquid tin-milk) and MF (Processed liquid tin-milk) were of fair quality. However, MA gave a poor quality based on the MBR time of between 30 m to 2 h corroborating with the high value of its THBC which was above the standard. Milk being a vital protein source and an excellent medium for microbial growth should be thoroughly treated by sterilization in a bottle as the study revealed that the milk microbial load can be greatly reduced by pasteurization, with sterilization in bottle having a greater bactericidal effect than pasteurization.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.