Low occurrence of bacteria on the lift buttons of a public hospital executing weekly Covid 19 decontamination

Introduction: The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) has led to serious changes in the way of handling common touch objects. Since these objects had the potential to become fomite, the Malaysian Ministry of Health had implemented sanitation and decontamination as a must routine especially for public spaces such as hospitals to prevent any chances of getting nosocomial infection. However, there was little to no publication on the effect of these implementations on common touchable surfaces in Malaysia. Objectives: This research was conducted to quantify the bacteria isolated from the interior and exterior lift buttons of a public hospital in Kuantan, Pahang that performed weekly Covid 19 cleaning and decontamination Methodology Sampling using cotton swabs was conducted thrice with two weeks intervals from March to April 2021 on the lift buttons in the main building of the hospital by purposive sampling technique (n=50). The samples were processed in the laboratory as per standard microbiological procedures Results: The average percentage of bacterial occurrence was 34.8%. Bacteria on the interior lift buttons were more abundant than on the exterior lift buttons with 440 and 120 CFU/mL, respectively. The distribution of bacteria on the lift buttons was skewed towards Gram-positive bacteria (84.1%) when compared to Gram-negative bacteria (15.9%) wherein cocci-shaped bacteria dominated with 79.6% occurrence. Conclusion: The low quantity of bacteria on the lift buttons showed that the weekly routine decontamination was effective. The decontamination method is ideal to be applied in public places to minimise the occurrence of contaminants

Antilipase and antioxidant activity of Phyllanthus niruri ethanolic extract

The aim of this study is to determine the antilipase and antioxidant activity of Phyllanthus niruri methanolic extract. The inhibitory activity against porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) was determined by measuring the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl butyrate to p-nitrophenol at 405 nm. The crude extract exhibited strong lipase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 27. 65 µg/ mL. The inhibition mode study disclosed that P. niruri could act as noncompetitive inhibitor. Antioxidant activity of P. niruri extract was measured by 2, 2, diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity assay. P. niruri showed high antioxidant activity with an EC50 value of 7.471 µg/mL. The results suggested that P. niruri has shown potential as a source of natural antilipase and antioxidant

Metagenomic analysis of contaminated lift buttons reveals prevalent pathogens with antimicrobial resistance genes: a study in a public hospital in Pahang, Malaysia

Introduction: Hospital lift buttons are potential reservoirs for microbial contamination, contributing to the transmission of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Despite routine cleaning efforts, concerns persisted regarding the prevalence of contaminants on these surfaces, particularly in healthcare settings within Southeast Asian countries. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and microbial diversity of contaminants on lift buttons in a public hospital (PH) located in Pahang, Malaysia, during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: Purposive swab sampling was conducted thrice at two-week intervals. Standard plate count and metagenomic analysis were employed to determine the prevalence of contaminants and identify the diverse microbial communities, respectively. Analysis of variance and Bonferroni test evaluated at alpha value less or equal to 0.05, were performed to determine the significance of the findings. Results: The investigation revealed a notable prevalence of contaminants at 30.4% on both interior and exterior lift buttons, with no significant disparity observed between lifts in high-risk and moderate-risk areas (p>0.05). Metagenomic analysis revealed Firmicutes as the dominant phylum, with Staphylococcus and Bacillus being the most prevalent genera. Analysis of the Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways highlighted the importance of ABC transporter and two-component systems, where key genes involved in the iron complex transport, antimicrobial resistance, and multidrug efflux enriched, crucial for the microbial survival. Conclusion: These findings underscored the complexity of microbial ecosystems and their adaptive mechanisms in response to environmental pressures, while emphasizing the importance of implementing effective infection control measures to mitigate the risk of lift buttons-associated HAIs. Future research should broaden the geographical scope to encompass diverse hospital settings and explore the interaction of microbial communities’ functional capabilities with the hospital environment, offering insights into optimizing hygiene practices and targeted intervention

Molecular studies of cold active lipase and protease

Psychrophilic organisms produce enzymes adapted to function at low temperature. These enzymes are characterized by a catalytic efficiency at low and moderate temperatures but are rather thermolabile. Thermophilic enzymes usually feature in discussion of industrial uses because their heat-stability makes them ideal biocatalyst for many reactions. However, cold-active/heat-labile enzymes also have great potential in industry. Cold-active enzymes might offer novel opportunities for biotechnological exploitation based on their high catalytic activity at low temperatures, low thermostability and unusual specificities. These properties are of interest in diverse fields such as detergents, fabric and food industry, bioremediation and biocatalysts under low water conditions. Furthermore, fundamental issues concerning the molecular basis of cold activity and the interplay between flexibility and catalytic efficiency are of important in the study of structure-function relationships in protein. By means of X-ray crystallography, these properties are beginning to be understood, and the rules governing their adaptation to cold appear to be relatively diverse. To date, extensive studies on psychrophilic enzymes were conducted ranging from purification and characterization, molecular cloning and expression, homology modeling and structural studies and x-ray crystallography studies. Lipases and protease which represents the most important groups of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes were examined due to the attractive properties of these enzymes that constitute a tremendous potential for fundamental research and biotechnological applications

Rosmarinic acid as pancreatic lipase inhibitor

The present invention pertains to rosmarinic acid for use in the inhibition of pancreatic lipase. The use of the present invention may be applied in medical and dietary methods for the reduction of body fat in mammals. The invention is in particular useful for the treatment of metabolic disorders such as obesity or diabetes

Anti-obesity potential of selected tropical plants via pancreatic lipase inhibition

Natural products are a vast source of potential compounds that can be developed as anti-obesity agent. One of the mechanisms of anti-obesity agents is inhibition of pancreatic lipase. Assay of 24 crude extracts for their in vitro activity against porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) detected four extracts demonstrating high (>70%) inhibition, seven extracts had medium (30-70%) inhibition and the remaining 13 extracts exhibited low (<30%) inhibition when incubated with PPL at a concentration of 500µg/ml for 10min at 37°C. Phyllanthus niruri extract displayed the most potent PPL inhibitor, followed by Orthosiphon stamineus, Murraya paniculata and Averrhoa bilimbi with the IC50 value of 27.7<34.7< 41.5<55.2µg/ml, respectively. P. niruri & O. stamineus (the best two extracts) showed noncompetitive and uncompetitive inhibition, respectively. P. niruri & O. stamineus displayed total phenolic content of 431.0±0.01 and 103.0±0.01mg GAE/g dry extract, while total flavonoid content of 14.8±0.07 and 21.6±0.03mg QE/g dry extract, respectively. Both P. niruri & O. stamineus extracts showed high antioxidant activity, with EC50 values of 8.4 and 26.3µg/ml, respectively. The results suggest that P. niruri & O. stamineus may be beneficial for obesity treatment via pancreatic lipase inhibition action

Antilipase and antioxidant activity of Orthosiphon stamineus methanolic extract

Antilipase from natural resources are a potential tool for the treatment of obesity while antioxidant-rich plants are essential in combating degenerative diseases. The aim of this study is to determine the antilipase and antioxidant activity of Orthosiphon stamineus methanolic extract. The inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase was determined by measuring the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl butyrate to p-nitrophenol at 405 nm. Antioxidant activity of O. stamineus extract was measured by 2, 2, diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity assay. The O. stamineus crude extract exhibited strong lipase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 34.7 µg/ml. The inhibition mode study disclosed that O. stamineus could act as uncompetitive inhibitor. O. stamineus showed high antioxidant activity with an EC50 value of 26.3 µg/ml. The results suggest that O. stamineus has shown potential as a source of natural antilipase and antioxidant

Antilipase and antioxidant activity of Phyllanthus niruri ethanolic extract

The aim of this study is to determine the antilipase and antioxidant activity of Phyllanthus niruri methanolic extract. The inhibitory activity against porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) was determined by measuring the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl butyrate to p-nitrophenol at 405 nm. The crude extract exhibited strong lipase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 27. 65 µg/ mL. The inhibition mode study disclosed that P. niruri could act as noncompetitive inhibitor. Antioxidant activity of P. niruri extract was measured by 2, 2, diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity assay. P. niruri showed high antioxidant activity with an EC50 value of 7.471 µg/mL. The results suggested that P. niruri has shown potential as a source of natural antilipase and antioxidant

Identification of lipase inhibitor from orthosiphon stamineus benth and analysis of lipase-inhibitor complex interaction

Natural products are a vast source of potential compounds that can be developed as an anti-obesity agent. One of the mechanisms of anti-obesity agents is inhibition of pancreatic lipase. Orlistat is the only commercial pancreatic lipase inhibitor with FDA approval, but it is derived synthetically and has side effects. Hence, there is a need to find for alternative from natural resources. It is postulated that lipase inhibitor from local plants could change pancreatic lipase structure conformation and impair it function. Therefore, this study aims to screen selected plants for pancreatic lipase-inhibitory activity, to identify the lipase-inhibitory compound and to analyse the lipase-inhibitor complex interaction. Screening of 24 crude extracts for their in vitro activity against porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) detected four extracts demonstrating high (>70%) inhibition, while seven extracts had medium (30-70%) inhibition and the remaining 13 extracts exhibited low (<30%) inhibition when incubated with PPL at a final concentration of 500 μg/ml for 10 min at 37°C. P. niruri extract displayed the most potent PPL inhibitor, followed by O. stamineus, M. paniculata and A. bilimbi with the IC50 value of 27.7<34.7<41.5<55.2 μg/ml,respectively. The best two extracts, namely P. niruri and O. stamineus, showed noncompetitive and uncompetitive inhibition,respectively. P. niruri and O.stamineus showed total phenolic content of 431.0 ± 0.01 and 103.0 ± 0.01 mg GAE/g dry extract, while total flavonoid content of 14.8 ± 0.07 and 21.6 ± 0.03mg QE/g dry extract, respectively. Both P. niruri and O. stamineus extracts showed high antioxidant activity, with EC50 values of 8.4 and 26.3 μg/ml,respectively. Isolation of lipase-inhibitory compound from P. niruri and O.stamineus was performed via chromatographic approaches. However, the isolation process later came to focus on O. stamineus active fractions due to difficulty separating the P. niruri active fraction. A combined fraction of MK38 and MK39 from O. stamineus extract demonstrated the highest inhibitory activity with 50% PPL inhibition. Fractionation of combined fraction MK38 and MK39 by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) yielded an active compound designated as sub-fraction P5 with 45% PPL inhibition. Sub-fraction P5 was authenticated as rosmarinic acid by spectroscopic analyses, namely liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (MS-MS),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Rosmarinic acid inhibited PPL in a non-competitive manner with an IC50 value of 19.5 μg/ml. Circular dichroism analysis showed a conformational change of the PPL secondary structure upon binding of rosmarinic acid towards PPL. However, no diffraction data were acquired from X-ray crystallography technique. Molecular docking predicted the potential binding site of rosmarinic acid was positioned far from the active site, whereas a molecular dynamic simulation projected that the flexibility of PPL structure would be affected upon binding of rosmarinic acid towards PPL. Hence, the In silico results were in agreement with the inhibition mode analysis. These results have suggested that rosmarinic acid from O. stamineus may play a complimentary role in obesity treatment, acting as a non-competitive pancreatic lipase inhibitor