Countries like Nepal and India have been using crude plants as medicine since Vedic period. A major part of the total population in developing countries still uses traditional folk medicine obtained from plant resources (Farnsworth 1994). With an estimation of WHO that as many as 80% of worlds population living in rural areas rely on herbal traditional medicines as their primary health care, the study on properties and uses of medicinal plants are getting growing interests. In recent years this interest to evaluate plants possessing antibacterial activity for various diseases is growing (Clark and Hufford, 1993). Based on local use of common diseases and Ethnobotanical knowledge, an attempt has been made to assess the antibacterial properties of selected medicinal plants.VIZ. Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi), Origanum majorana (Ram Tulsi), Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Dalchini), and Xanthoxylum armatum (Timur), for potential antibacterial activity against 10 medically important bacterial strains, namely Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas spp, Proteus spp, Salmonella Typhi, Escherichia coli, Shigella dysentriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae. The antibacterial activity of ethanol extracts was determined by agar well diffusion method. The plant extracts were more active against Gram-positive bacteria than against Gram-negative bacteria. The most susceptible bacteria were B. subtilis, followed by S. aureus, while the most resistant bacteria were E.coli, followed by Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhi. From the screening experiment, Origanum majorana showed the best antibacterial activity; hence this plant can be further subjected to isolation of the therapeutic antimicrobials and pharmacological evaluation. The largest zone of inhibition was obtained with Xanthoxylum armatum against Bacillus subtilis (23mm) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value of 2.5 mg/l was obtained.
BackgroundUrinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the frequently diagnosed infectious diseases which is caused mainly by Escherichia coli. E. coli confers resistance against the two major classes of antibiotics due to the production of extended spectrum β-lactamase enzymes (ESBL), biofilm, etc. Biofilm produced by uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) protects from host immune system and prevent entry of antimicrobial compounds. The main objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the correlation of biofilm production and antibiotic resistance as well as to characterize the pgaA and pgaC genes responsible for biofilm formation among uropathogenic ESBL producing E. coli.MethodsA total of 1977 mid-stream urine samples were examined and cultured for bacterial strain identification. ESBL was detected by combined disc method following CLSI whereas biofilm formation was analyzed by semi-quantitative method. Furthermore, the pgaA and pgaC genes responsible for biofilm formation in UPEC were detected by multiplex PCR. All the statistical analyses were done via IBM SPSS Statistics 21 where Pearson’s correlation test were used to determine correlation (−1 ≥ r ≤ 1).ResultsE. coli was the predominant causative agent, which accounted 159 (59.3%) of the Gram-negative bacteria, where 81 (50.9%) E. coli strains were found to be ESBL producers. In addition, 86 (54.1%) E. coli strains were found to be biofilm producers. Both the pgaA and pgaC genes were detected in 45 (93.7%) the UPEC isolates, which were both biofilm and ESBL producers. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between biofilm and ESBL production.ConclusionThe analyses presented weak positive correlation between biofilm and ESBL production in which biofilm producing UPEC harbors both pgaA and pgaC genes responsible for biofilm formation.
Public health data suggested a rapid rise in COVID-19-confirmed cases in Nepal along with increased deaths. There has been a wide variation in clinical outcomes of this disease. Control of this pandemic depends on the availability of vaccines or drugs for SARS-CoV-2. Thus, viral and human genetics/genomics and immunology are necessary to understand whether these factors will affect clinical trials of vaccines in Nepal.
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