ObjectiveFood-borne pathogens are a major cause of illnesses, death and expenses. Their occurrence in meat and other food is considered a global health problem. The burden of food-borne disease is increasing due to antimicrobial resistance which represents a greater risk of treatment failure. However, very little is known about the antibiotic resistance profile of food-borne pathogens in Nepal. This study was conducted to examine the antibiotic resistance profile of common food-borne bacterial pathogens isolated from raw meat sold in Nepal. A total of 83 meat samples were collected from the market and analyzed.ResultsThe prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, and Vibrio were 68%, 53%, 35%, 6%, and 6% respectively. The resistance of Salmonella was most frequently observed to amoxicillin (100%), tetracycline (24%), chloramphenicol (11%), and nalidixic acid (11%). S. aureus was resistant to amoxicillin (100%) followed by tetracycline (63%), nalidixic acid (17%), and cefotaxime (13%) respectively. Vibrio isolates resisted amoxicillin (100%), tetracycline (40%) and chloramphenicol (20%). Shigella expressed the highest resistance to amoxicillin (100%), followed by chloramphenicol (80%), tetracycline (60%) and nalidixic acid (20%). E. coli exhibited the highest resistance to amoxicillin (100%), followed by tetracycline (93%), nalidixic acid (25%) and cefotaxime (19%).

Ethnobotany is the study of ethnic plants of particular people living in particular place. It accommodates list, details and description of all those studied plants regarding with their various uses. Tharu people belong to one of the indigenous communities especially in Terai region of Nepal. Tharu people have been using these plant resources since 18th century. This study aims to identify ethnic plants of Tharu community of eastern Nepal and their uses in their daily lives.  Enumeration of useful plants from Tharu ethnic community was conducted in four villages of Ramdhuni municipality of Sunsari district. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and household sampling technique were used for data collection. Plant specimens were collected and information regarding it was obtained from local Dhamis, Jhankris, farmers and old age people. This study reported thirty-seven useful plant species under 25 families. In total 37 species, 25 were recorded as medicinal plant, used to treat pneumonia, menstrual disorder, stones, piles, skin disease etc. Other plant species were used for food, fodder, timber, fiber and ceremonial/ religious activities. Most plant species (78.3%) were having multiple use value, and kept under more than one use category and few species (21.7%) with single use category. Trees (27.02%) and herbs (27.02%), both were dominant over grass, shrubs, climbers and creepers. This study has revealed that many plants species are being used by Tharu community of Eastern Nepal as their ethnic plants for medicine, food, fodder, ornament, material etc which needs to be more explored. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 8(2): 223-230

Various medicinal plants are common in use in Nepal for the treatment of different diseases. Nowadays, drug resistance has emerged as a major problem for various infections, in such case plants can be used as alternative for the production of new antimicrobial agents. Thuja (in Nepali: dhupi) is a small evergreen genus of the Cupressaceae family. This species is widely cultivated as a common ornamental plant in Nepal and India. This study examined the antibacterial activity of Thuja leaves extract on gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp.) and gram-negative bacteria (E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Thuja leaves were collected from different localities of Dharan, and dried under shade for 10 days. They were then grinded using mechanical grinder. Leaf extract (oleoresin) was obtained by soxhlet extraction technique using mixture of Ethyl acetate, Ethanol and chloroform in the ratio 40:30:30 as the solvent. The antibacterial activity of Thuja oleoresin was tested using both Agar well diffusion as well as disc diffusion technique. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration(MIC) was determined by agar well diffusion on MHA plates. Thuja oleoresin showed distinct antibacterial activity towards all four isolates on both agar well and disc diffusion methods. MIC for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus spp. was found to be 12.5 µl whereas for E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, MIC was 25 µl. Thus from our results, it is concluded that Thuja leaves have antibacterial effects and can be a potential source for production of antibacterial drugs.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the antibacterial property of aqueous extracts of common spices used in the preparation of Kachhila such as garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Methods: After washing and cleaning separately, aqueous extracts were extracted from each spice by crushed with mortar and pestle. Antibacterial activity of aqueous extracts of each spice was evaluated by using agar well diffusion assay and paper disc diffusion assay against test bacteria isolated from buff meat used in Kachhila preparation. Results: Minimum inhibition concentration value of each spice was evaluated against all bacterial isolates. Total bacterial count (CFU/g) of prepared Kachhila was determined in each 30 mins interval up to 150 mins to reveal antibacterial activities of spices used in Kachhila. The antibacterial effect of aqueous extract of garlic extract was found to be the stronger in comparison, followed by turmeric and ginger against test bacterial isolates. The MIC of individual spice extract was found to be 125 to 4000 μl/ml against all the test bacteria. Spices used in Kachhila revealed that bacterial load decreased with time due to the antibacterial property of spices. Conclusion: This study concluded that the antibacterial effect of aqueous extract of Garlic extract was stronger in comparison, followed by Turmeric and Ginger against four test bacteria isolated from buff meat namely; E. coli, Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore this study revealed that spices used in Kachhila have an antibacterial property and enhance the shelf life of Kachhila.

The increasing need of novel antibiotics has provided a pace for the search of antibiotics from actinomycetes. Primary and secondary screenings of antibiotic producing actinomycetes from the soil of Siraha (75-600 m) were performed. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the metabolites was determined against E. coli. Macroscopic, microscopic and biochemical characterization were performed for the identification of presumptive genera. Characterization of the antibacterial substances was done by TLC. Among 92 isolates, 22 showed antibacterial activity against at least 1 bacterium out of 6 test bacteria used. Microscopy and other characteristics studies revealed that 19 (86.36%) were Streptomyces spp.,1 (4.55%) was Thermomonospora spp., and 2 (9.09 %) were unidentified. Five potent isolates were selected for the secondary screening where 2 isolates inhibited Gram negative bacteria with an MIC value of 1.2 mg/mL for each isolate. TLC showed that both antibiotics produced only one spot suggesting the presence of one active compound other than vancomycin (standard). The active isolates from primary screening were heterogeneous in their overall macroscopic, biochemical, and physiological characteristics. The two potent isolates showing antibacterial activity were found to belong to different distinct taxonomic groups.