Objectives: Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic nosocomial pathogen and a cause of severe infections in hospitalized patients, owing to its ability to acquire drug resistance by the efflux pump mechanism. The current study investigated the detection and prevalence of efflux pump genes (AdeABC) in multidrug resistant A. baumannii isolates and the role of these genes in multidrug and carbapenems resistance. Methods: This study was conducted on 84 multidrug resistant and 13 carbapenem-susceptible A. baumannii isolates obtained from burn and wound infections in Baghdad hospitals, Iraq. The AdeABC genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Phe-arg-beta-naphthylamide (PAβN)-based method was used for determination of efflux pump activity. Results: This study showed high prevalence of efflux pump genes in our local isolates. The AdeB gene was present in all multidrug resistant isolates (100%) while AdeRS gene was found in 95.2%, AdeC gene in 83.3% and AdeA gene in 77.4%. By comparing the prevalence of these gene in carbapenem-susceptible isolates, it was demonstrated that the gene AdeB was absent in all susceptible isolates, also the regulatory gene AdeRS was not found in most of these isolates, while the other genes (AdeA and AdeC) were detected in most carbapenem-susceptible isolates. Susceptibility of isolates to Amikacin, Gentamicin, Ciprofloxacin, Levofloxacin, Tetracycline and Tigecycline was highly increased in the presence of efflux pump inhibitor, so that, PAβN reduced the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) by 4 to 32 folds. Also, MICs of carbapenems were reduced in the presence of the inhibitor by two to eight folds, while the MICs of colistin were not affected. Conclusions: AdeABC efflux system plays a vital role in multidrug resistance in clinical A. baumannii isolates. It was noted that the most important gene responsible for multidrug resistance within this system was the AdeB gene especially in carbapenems resistance.

Clerodendron inerme is used for the treatment for many diseases such as dysentery, heart diseases, AIDS, cancers, and others. Aim of this research was to determine the antibacterial and antioxidant activities the leaf alkaloids of Clerodendron inerme. To evaluate the antibacterial effects, Well diffusion assay, minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration were used to test antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.For antioxidant activity, DPPH radical scavenging activity assay was used a standard method. GC-MS analysis was used to identify alkaloids. Alkaloid component from the leaves of C. inerme exhibited significant inhibition zones on the tested bacteria including P.aeruginosa. Alkaloid extracted from the leaves of the plant has high antioxidant activity compared to the control (Ascorbic acid).GC-MS resultsidentified. 1-Methylspermidine, Spermidine hydrochloride, sym-Homo Spermidine-d, Trihydrochloride, spermine, 6-Methyl-2-phenyl-quinoline, indeno[1,2b]quinolizine, 1-Methyl-1H-indole-2-carboxylic acid, 1H-Indole-3-carboxylic acid, 2,6-Octadiene-1,8-diamine and 2-phenylindol-3-one. It can be concluded that the alkaloids of the leaves of the plant have a good antibacterial and antioxidant properties.The results indicate that the alkaloids appear in C. inerme leaves can be a new source of antimicrobialsagents against pathogenic bacteria and antioxidant sources.

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This research aimed to investigate multi-target inhibitors against the Beta-Lactamases protein of urinary tract infections (UTI) Escherichia coli, which is considered the main virulence factor of this bacterium. Drug design is regarded as a new approach to drug discovery and industry. The combination of Ginger Essential Oil (GEO) and Cefepime (FEP) showed effective results against Beta-Lactamase enzymes of UTI E.coli, 512 FEP+ 100% GEO and 1024 FEP + 100% GEO for (20 mm and 26 mm) inhibition zone respectively. The present study concluded that the isolates of E.coli of UTI from Iraqi hospitals were MDR and XDR, and their virulence was due to the presence of blaTEM genes. In silico screening, servers have been used to design an inhibitor model for Beta-Lactamases from the natural product of GEO. Cefepime and Ginger's essential oil showed a strong synergistic effect on these bacteria. Keywords: Escherichia coli; ESBLs; Ginger Essential Oil; Cefepime; UTI

Clerodendron inerme is used to treat asthma, inflammation, Parkinson’s diseases, and other diseases.This research is aimed to determine antibacterial and antioxidant effects in the anthraquinones’ fraction of Clerodendron inerme leaves.Well-diffusion agar, minimum inhibitory concentration, and minimal bactericidal concentration were used to test the antibacterial properties of the four types of bacteria.DPPH radical scavenging assay was used to evaluate their antioxidant activity.GC-MS and FTIR analysis were used to identify anthraquinones compounds of the leaves in the plant.Anthraquinones component from the leaves of C.inerme has shown significant inhibition against pathogenic bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The anthraquinones extract of plant leaves has higher antioxidant activity compared to the control (ascorbic acid).IR spectra of anthraquinones extract from the leaves of C.inerme exhibited O-H stretching as a strong band at 3347.84 cm-1.C-H stretch bands are found in bands 2924.15 and 2857.29 cm-1. C= O group are located in the bands of 1733.18 cm-1 and 1637.72 cm-1. The C-H bending groups at 1375.64 cm-1 and the C-O groups at 1236.81 and 1050.16 cm-1 were detected. GC-MS results of the leaves of C.inerme identified specific anthraquinones compounds are Emodin, 1,4-Dihydroxyanthraquinone, 1-ethoxyanthraquinone, 2-Ethylanthraquinone, 9,10-Anthracenedione, 1,5- Dihydroxyanthrachinon, 1,4-Dimethoxybenzene, 1,4-Cyclohexanedione, and 2,3-Dimethylquinone. In conclusion, the anthraquinones of the green part of this plant have good antibacterial and antioxidant activities. The results suggest that anthraquinones from the leaves of C.inerme are a source of antimicrobials agents against harmful bacteria and antioxidant sources.