Bioactive compounds in ethanol extract of Lentinus squarrosulus Mont - a Nigerian medicinal macrofungus

Background: The continuous search for new lead compounds of therapeutic importance has become necessary in the face of treatment failures and multidrug resistance plaguing the world. While many plants and higher fungi are sources of bioactive compounds yet to be fully harnessed, understanding the bioactive components in macrofungus could serve as a lead for investigating its biological activities and medicinal potentials.Materials and Methods: The bioactive compounds in the ethanolic extract of Lentinus Squarrosulus, an edible Nigerian macrofungus, were investigated by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis.Results: There were nine bioactive compounds in this edible macrofungus. Of these compounds, 9,12-Octadecanoic acid ethyl ester (37.39%; RT:39.815) was the highest in quantity, followed by Hexadecanoic acid ethyl ester (14.49%; RT:36.550). Other fatty acids, their ethyl esters and other compounds identified included 2-Butenethioic acid,3-(ethylthio)-S-(1-methylethyl) ester (4.51%; RT:15.866), n-Hexadecanoic acid (4.74%; RT:36.034), 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)- (11.88%; RT:39.429), 9,17-Octadecadienal,(Z)- (5.01%; RT:39.500), ethyl oleate (5.27%; RT:39.898), 3a,6-Methano-3aH-indene,2,3,6,7 tetrahydro (4.04%; RT:48.379), and 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-,2 hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl) ethyl ester (12.68%; RT:48.682). Some of these compounds have antimicrobial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, hypocholesterolemic as well as cancer preventive activities amongst others.Conclusion: This study showed the bioactive components of therapeutic potentials in L. squarrosulus while creating a platform for screening, isolating and identifying many bioactive components which may be useful in the treatment of the various ailments, disorders and diseases in the nearest future.Keywords: Bioactive constituents; ethanolic extract; Lentinus squarrosulus; GC-MS analysis; mushroom; macrofung

Vancomycin intermediate resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the nasal cavity of asymptomatic individuals: a potential public health challenge

Background: The potential of transmitting multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus from asymptomatic individuals to healthy individuals could constitute a great challenge to antimicrobial therapy. Methods: The antibiograms of the S. aureus from asymptomatic individuals were determined by disk diffusion and agar dilution assay techniques with different antibiotics and vancomycin. Results: Of the 152 S. aureus isolated, (59)38.8% isolates were multi-drug resistant strains. Streptomycin was the most effective and inhibited (135)88.82% of the isolates while ceftazidime inhibited (24)15.8% of the isolates. While (82)54.0% of the isolates inhibited by cefuroxime had resistant colonies within their inhibition zones (Rc) and ofloxacin inhibited (100)65.8% of the isolates without having resistant colonies within the inhibition zones, ceftazidime inhibited (7)4.6% of the isolates with resistant colonies within the inhibition zones. Subjecting the isolates to vancomycin showed that (27)17.8% were resistant to 2 \u3bcg/ml, (43)28.3% were resistant to 4 \u3bcg/ml and (27)17.8% of the isolates were simultaneously resistant to both concentrations of vancomycin. Although (100)65.8% of the isolates had MARindex 650.2, (52)34.2% of the isolates had MARindex 64 0.2 and (65)428% of the isolates were considered multidrug resistant strains. Conclusion: The isolation of multi-drug and vancomycin intermediate resistant strains of S. aureus in high percentage, in this study, presents a great threat to clinicians and general populace. The vancomycin intermediate resistant S. aureus (VISA) in asymptomatic individuals could be a critical concern to the therapeutic dilemma to be added to the presence of multi-drug resistance. A more sustainable therapy must be in place to prevent its dissemination or the outbreak of its infection

BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN ETHANOL EXTRACT OF LENTINUS SQUARROSULUS MONT - A NIGERIAN MEDICINAL MACROFUNGUS

Background: The continuous search for new lead compounds of therapeutic importance has become necessary in the face of treatment failures and multidrug resistance plaguing the world. While many plants and higher fungi are sources of bioactive compounds yet to be fully harnessed, understanding the bioactive components in macrofungus could serve as a lead for investigating its biological activities and medicinal potentials. Materials and Methods: The bioactive compounds in the ethanolic extract of Lentinus Squarrosulus, an edible Nigerian macrofungus, were investigated by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Results: There were nine bioactive compounds in this edible macrofungus. Of these compounds, 9,12-Octadecanoic acid ethyl ester (37.39%; RT:39.815) was the highest in quantity, followed by Hexadecanoic acid ethyl ester (14.49%; RT:36.550). Other fatty acids, their ethyl esters and other compounds identified included 2-Butenethioic acid,3-(ethylthio)-S-(1-methylethyl) ester (4.51%; RT:15.866), n-Hexadecanoic acid (4.74%; RT:36.034), 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)- (11.88%; RT:39.429), 9,17-Octadecadienal,(Z)- (5.01%; RT:39.500), ethyl oleate (5.27%; RT:39.898), 3a,6-Methano-3aH-indene,2,3,6,7 tetrahydro (4.04%; RT:48.379), and 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-,2 hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl) ethyl ester (12.68%; RT:48.682). Some of these compounds have antimicrobial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, hypocholesterolemic as well as cancer preventive activities amongst others. Conclusion: This study showed the bioactive components of therapeutic potentials in L. squarrosulus while creating a platform for screening, isolating and identifying many bioactive components which may be useful in the treatment of the various ailments, disorders and diseases in the nearest future

In vitro pharmacological interaction of caffeine and first-line antibiotics is antagonistic against clinically important bacterial pathogens

The in vitro antibacterial activity of pure caffeine powder and its interaction with first line antibiotic against bacterial isolates were investigated with the macrobroth dilution and the checkerboard assay methods. This study showed that caffeine and the antibiotics exhibited various degrees of antibacterial activities. While caffeine had MICs ranging between 67.19 and 268.75 µg/ml, chloramphenicol was characterized by MICs between 0.98 and 31.25 µg/ml, kanamycin - 15.63-62.5 µg/ml, nalidixic acid - 0.49-250 µg/ml, erythromycin - 0.49-62.5 µg/ml, tetracycline - 1.99-62.5 µg/ml and metronidazole - 15.63-31.25 µg/ml. Combining ½ MICs and MICs of caffeine with the antibiotics as well as direct combination of caffeine and the antibiotics resulted in significant reduction of antibiotics' effectiveness. The fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) for the combination of ½ MICs of caffeine with different antibiotics showed antagonistic interactions with the antibiotics except kanamycin which had additive and indifferent interactions with caffeine. The FICI of the MICs of caffeine combined with antibiotics showed a reduction in the number of antagonistic interactions as chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and erythromycin showed some indifferent interactions while kanamycin was the only antibiotic that showed indifferent interaction against all the bacterial isolates. The direct combination of caffeine and the antibiotics resulted in significant antagonistic interactions higher than in the case when caffeine, at the ½ MICs and MICs, was combined with the antibiotics. Although caffeine demonstrated significant antibacterial activity against the selected bacterial isolates, its combination with the selected antibiotics resulted in significant antagonistic interactions. Caffeine should not be combined with antibiotics as this could result in serious therapeutic failure and, possibly, drug toxicity in vivo

Inhibitory activities of ethanolic extracts of two macrofungi against eggs and miracidia of Fasciola spp.

Fascioliasis is a disease of livestock which is now recognized as an emerging disease in humans. Cantharellus cibarius and Ganoderma applanatum are known for their medicinal properties. The use of ethanolic extracts of these macrofungi against the eggs and miracidia of Fasciola spp. is a promising method to break the parasite transmission cycle. The aim of the study is to evaluate the inhibitory effects of ethanolic extracts of the mushrooms on eggs and miracidia of Fasciola spp. Concentrated eggs and miracidia of Fasciola spp. were exposed to different concentrations (1-8 mg/ml) of extracts of Ganoderma applanatum (GEE) and Cantharellus cibarius (CEE) at different time intervals. GEE showed superior antiparasitic activities when compared to CEE at all concentrations tested. Significant positive correlations were observed between the concentration of GEE and mortality in miracidia (r=0.980, P <0.05) and CEE and mortality in miracidia (r= 0.968, P <0.05). The study showed that ethanolic extracts of G. applanatum and C. cibarius have ovicidal and miracicidal activities. While G. applanatum showed excellent activities, activities in C. cibarius were moderate. Therefore, these mushroom extracts can be regarded as promising sources of bioactive compounds that could be developed into ovicides and miracicides

In vitro Effects of Magnesium-Aluminum Hydroxide (Maalox) on the Antibacterial Activity of Ciprofloxacin against Clinical Bacterial Isolates

To investigate the in vitro effects of interactions between ciprofloxacin (CP) and magnesium-aluminium hydroxide (MA) combined against selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The interaction between CP and MA was accessed by agar diffusion method. Comparing the susceptibility of the isolates to CP alone with those of Ciprofloxacin-Magnesium-aluminum hydroxide (CPMA) combined showed that there were significant antagonistic and synergistic interactions in vitro. Antibacterial activities of ciprofloxacin were increased with 4.5-6.0 µg/ml of the MA but were drastically decreased with concentrations lower and higher than 4.5-6.0 µg/ml while development of resistant colonies within these zones of inhibitions was recorded. The susceptibility of the isolated resistant colonies was lesser than those obtained from the original isolates. The combination of ciprofloxacin (CP) and magnesium-aluminum hydroxide (Maalox) (MA) against bacterial isolates could result in development of resistant colonies. The roles of aluminum and magnesium in resistance development at the molecular level require further studies