The antibacterial properties of Malaysian tualang honey against wound and enteric microorganisms in comparison to manuka honey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antibiotic resistance of bacteria is on the rise, thus the discovery of alternative therapeutic agents is urgently needed. Honey possesses therapeutic potential, including wound healing properties and antimicrobial activity. Although the antimicrobial activity of honey has been effectively established against an extensive spectrum of microorganisms, it differs depending on the type of honey. To date, no extensive studies of the antibacterial properties of tualang (<it>Koompassia excelsa</it>) honey on wound and enteric microorganisms have been conducted. The objectives of this study were to conduct such studies and to compare the antibacterial activity of tualang honey with that of manuka honey.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a broth dilution method, the antibacterial activity of tualang honey against 13 wound and enteric microorganisms was determined; manuka honey was used as the control. Different concentrations of honey [6.25-25% (w/v)] were tested against each type of microorganism. Briefly, two-fold dilutions of honey solutions were tested to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against each type of microorganism, followed by more assays within a narrower dilution range to obtain more precise MIC values. MICs were determined by both visual inspection and spectrophotometric assay at 620 nm. Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) also was determined by culturing on blood agar plates.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By visual inspection, the MICs of tualang honey ranged from 8.75% to 25% compared to manuka honey (8.75-20%). Spectrophotometric readings of at least 95% inhibition yielded MIC values ranging between 10% and 25% for both types of honey. The lowest MBC for tualang honey was 20%, whereas that for manuka honey was 11.25% for the microorganisms tested. The lowest MIC value (8.75%) for both types of honey was against <it>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</it>. Tualang honey had a lower MIC (11.25%) against <it>Acinetobacter baumannii </it>compared to manuka honey (12.5%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tualang honey exhibited variable activities against different microorganisms, but they were within the same range as those for manuka honey. This result suggests that tualang honey could potentially be used as an alternative therapeutic agent against certain microorganisms, particularly <it>A. baumannii </it>and <it>S. maltophilia</it>.</p

Quality-Controlled Small-Scale Production of a Well-Defined Bacteriophage Cocktail for Use in Human Clinical Trials

We describe the small-scale, laboratory-based, production and quality control of a cocktail, consisting of exclusively lytic bacteriophages, designed for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus infections in burn wound patients. Based on succesive selection rounds three bacteriophages were retained from an initial pool of 82 P. aeruginosa and 8 S. aureus bacteriophages, specific for prevalent P. aeruginosa and S. aureus strains in the Burn Centre of the Queen Astrid Military Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. This cocktail, consisting of P. aeruginosa phages 14/1 (Myoviridae) and PNM (Podoviridae) and S. aureus phage ISP (Myoviridae) was produced and purified of endotoxin. Quality control included Stability (shelf life), determination of pyrogenicity, sterility and cytotoxicity, confirmation of the absence of temperate bacteriophages and transmission electron microscopy-based confirmation of the presence of the expected virion morphologic particles as well as of their specific interaction with the target bacteria. Bacteriophage genome and proteome analysis confirmed the lytic nature of the bacteriophages, the absence of toxin-coding genes and showed that the selected phages 14/1, PNM and ISP are close relatives of respectively F8, φKMV and phage G1. The bacteriophage cocktail is currently being evaluated in a pilot clinical study cleared by a leading Medical Ethical Committee

Persistence of Nosocomial Pathogens on Various Fabrics

Objective: Fabrics can become contaminated with high numbers of microorganisms that may be pathogenic to patients in a hospital setting and can play an important role in the chain of infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the survival of several clinical bacterial and fungal isolates on several fabrics commonly used in hospitals.Materials and Methods: Bacterial and fungal survival was tested on the following materials, each of which are commonly used in our hospital: 100% smooth cotton, 60% cotton-40% polyester, 100% wool and 100% silk. One isolate each of Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei, Candida glabrata, Candida parapsilosis, Geotrichum candidum, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans, vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) positive Escherichia coli, inducible beta-lactamase (IBL) positive Pseudomonas aeruginosa, IBL-positive Acinetobacter baumannii and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were used to contaminate fabrics. The survival of these microorganisms was studied by testing the fabric swatches for microbial growth.Results: The median survival times for all the tested bacteria and fungi were as follows: 26 days on cotton, 26.5 days on cotton-polyester, 28 days on silk, and 30 days on wool. Among the bacterial species tested, E. faecium had the longest survival time on cotton-polyester fabrics. For the fungal isolates, it was observed that C. tropicalis and C. krusei survived for the shortest amount of time on cotton fabrics in the present study.Conclusion: This survival data indicate that pathogenic microorganisms can survive from days to months on commonly used hospital fabrics. These findings indicate that current recommendations for the proper disinfection or sterilization of fabrics used in hospitals should be followed to minimize cross-contamination and prevent nosocomial infections

Bacterial Contamination Effect Of Different Procedures Applicable To Impression Surface

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı 2 farklı ölçü maddesi ile alınmış ölçülerden hazırlanan alçı modellerdeki bakteri kontaminasyonunun incelenmesidir. Materyal ve Metod: Çalışma kapsamında, herhangi bir sağlık sorunu olmayan yaşları 20-30 arasında değişen 7 hastadan toplam 56 adet ölçü alınmıştır. Çalışma için; hidrokolloid ve elastomerik esaslı olmak üzere iki farklı ölçü maddesi kullanılmış ve model elde etme metoduna göre her bir ölçü maddesi kendi arasında dört gruba ayrılmıştır: Grup 1: Ölçü alındıktan sonra hiçbir işlem yapılmadan içerisine sert alçı dökülmüştür. Grup 2: Ölçü alındıktan sonra, akan su altında yıkanmış ve içerisine sert alçı dökülmüştür. Grup 3: Ölçü alındıktan sonra, sodyum hipoklorit (1:10) ile dezenfekte edilmiş ve içerisine sert alçı dökülmüştür. Grup 4: Ölçü alındıktan sonra, akan su altında yıkanmış, sodyum hipoklorit (1:10) ile dezenfekte edilmiş ve içerisine sert alçı dökülmüştür. Alçılar sertleştikten sonra modeller ölçüden ayrılmış ve pamuk eküvyon çubuğu ile damağın orta bölgesinden örnekler alınmıştır. Kanlı agar ortamına ekilen örnekler 3 gün süre ile 370C' ye ayarlanan etüvde bakteri üremesi için bekletilmiştir. Bulgular: Her iki ölçü maddesinde de değişik işlem uygulanan bütün gruplarda farklı bakteri türlerinin kontamine olduğu görülmekle birlikte, en az bakteri çeşidinin akan su altında yıkanıp sodyum hipoklorit (1:10) ile dezenfekte edilen modellerde (Grup 4) olduğu saptanmıştır. Sonuç: Elde edilen bulgular; sadece su ile yıkamanın çapraz enfeksiyon kontrolünde etkin bir yöntem olmadığını göstermiştirAim: The aim of this study is to examine two different measures of substance contamination with bacteria in the plaster model made from impressions taken. Material and Method: Seven healthy dentate individuals aged 20-30 years were selected and 56 impressions were made. For this study hydrocolloid and elastomeric impression materials were used. According to the model casting method, impressions materials were divided into four groups: Group 1: Impressions with no treatment. Group 2: Impressions were only water rinsed. Group 3: Impressions were only disinfected with sodium hypochlorite (1:10). Group 4: impressions were water rinsed and then disinfected with sodium hypochlorite (1:10). After gypsums hardening, the models were retrivied from impressions. For all groups bacterial swabs were collected with dry sterile cotton swab in mid palatal region of models. The samples were inoculated in blood agar media and incubated for bacterial growth for 3 days at 37 0C in incubator. Results: In both impression material, but found to be contaminated with different species of bacteria in all groups underwent different processes, washed under running water of at least bacteria types sodium hypochlorite (1:10) and disinfected models (Group 4) were found to be. Conclusion: The findings are; showed only water washing is not an effective method for control of cross-infectio

1-4Comparison of the Antibacterial Efficacy of Several Dentin Bonding Agents: Two Different in Vitro Studies

Abstract Objective: In this study, we compared the antibacterial effects of several dentin bonding agents with different pH values and active monomers. Method and Materials: Infected dentin samples were obtained from depths of approximately 4-6 mm, from isolated and air-dried dental caries. Streptococcus mitis was isolated and incubated on sheep blood agar plates at 37°C for 18 h. Impregnated antimicrobial disks were used for the liquids, and the samples were grouped as follows: group 1 was a negative control group with nothing applied; group 2 was a positive control group with 2% chlorhexidine digluconate applied; group 3 had Adper Single Bond Universal applied; group 4 had Clearfil SE Bond 2 (including 10-methacryloyloxydodecyl dihydrogen phosphate[MDP]) applied; group 5 had Clearfil S3 Bond Plus (including [MDP])applied; and group 6 had Clearfil Protect Bond (including 12-methacryloyloxydodecylpyridinium bromide [MDPB])applied. The antimicrobial disks were inserted into the blood agar plates. Inhibition zones were measured on the plates by well-educated specialists. Results: The 2% chlorhexidine digluconate solution had a more extensive inhibition zone than the other groups. S. mitis was significantly inhibited on the MDPB-impregnated disks applied to the agar plates. Conclusions: The results demonstrated that dentin bonding agents including MDPB-containing primer had significant antibacterial effects