Prevalence and susceptibility pattern of methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates among healthy women in Zaria, Nigeria

Multi-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MMRSA) has been commonly reported to be one of the commonest causes of nosocomial infections worldwide. Also, recent reports describe methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) carriage in persons in the community. The study investigated its prevalence in urine of healthy women and its susceptibility pattern to other antibiotics. Urine samples collected from healthy women volunteers in Zaria were cultured and screened for S. aureus using standard microbiological procedures. The isolates were then subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing using disc diffusion technique. A total of 54 (36%) S. aureus isolates were isolated from 150 urine samples collected. The prevalence rate for married and single women was 31% and 46%, respectively. Of the S. aureus isolates, 37 (69%) were methicillin-resistant. The MRSA were highly resistant to ampicillin 100%, cephalexin 100%, clindamycin 92%, vancomycin 89% but had low resistance to pefloxacin 35%, ofloxacin 27% ciprofloxacin 27%, sparfloxacin 24% and gentamicin 16%. All the 37 (100%) MRSA isolates showed resistance to at least two antibiotics tested while 33 (89.2%) were multi-drug resistant

Prevalence of community-associated multi-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among healthy women in Abuja, Nigeria

Antimicrobial resistance has become a great public health problem worldwide and multi-drugvresistance Staphylococcus aureus has been widely reported. This study determined the pattern of resistance to ten commonly used antibiotics. Urine samples collected from healthy women volunteersin the Abuja were cultured and screened for S. aureus using standard microbiological procedures. The antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was investigated using disc diffusion technique. A total of 60 (40%) S. aureus isolates were isolated from 150 urine samples collected. Of these, 19 (32%), 22 (36%) and 19 (32%) were from married but not pregnant, pregnant and single women, respectively. The isolates were highly resistant to ampicillin (91.7%), clindamycin (78.3%), cephalexin (75%), methicillin (71.7%) and vancomycin (68.3%) but had very low resistance to gentamicin (3.3%), ciprofloxacin (3.3%), ofloxacin (3.3%), sparfloxacin (3.3%) and pefloxacin (10.0%). A total of 43 (71.7%) of the isolates showed multi-drug resistance and only 3 (5%) were susceptible to all the antibiotics tested. Multi-drug resistant S. aureus is highly prevalent in the urine of healthy women investigated in Federal Capital Territory. This calls for effective measures against irrational use of antibiotics

Formulation and Evaluation of Ascorbic acid Tablets by Direct Compression using Microcrystalline Starch as a Direct Compression Excipient

PURPOSE: To evaluate the tableting properties of microcrystalline starch(MCS) used as a direct compression excipient in the formulation of ascorbic acid tablets and to compare with the properties of tablets produced using microcrystalline cellulose (MCC).METHODS: MCS was obtained by partial hydrolysis of cassava (Manihotesculenta Crantz) starch using the enzyme, á-amylase. The hydrolysis wasallowed to proceed for 5 hr under controlled temperature and pH (56 °C, 6). The derived MCS was recovered by filtration after precipitation withethanol (95%v/v). Powder properties were investigated and tablets ofascorbic acid were formulated using MCS and MCC as direct compressionexcipients.RESULTS: Mechanical properties of tablets formulated with MCS werecomparable to those of MCC. Tablets formulated with MCS disintegratedwithin 15 min and gave a 100% release of ascorbic acid within 30 mincompared to MCC which disintegrated after 60 min.CONCLUSION: MCS can be incorporated as a direct compression excipient in the formulation of heat and/or moisture sensitive drugs by directcompression

Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin among healthy women in two Nigerian metropolitan cities

No Abstract. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 7(3) 2006: 205-21

Chemical composition and health benefits of coconut oil: an overview

Coconut oil is an integral part of Sri Lankan and many South Asian diets. Initially, coconut oil was classified along with saturated fatty acid food items and criticized for its negative impact on health. However, research studies have shown that coconut oil is a rich source of medium-chain fatty acids. Thus, this has opened new prospects for its use in many fields. Beyond its usage in cooking, coconut oil has attracted attention due to its hypocholesterolemic, anticancer, antihepatosteatotic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and skin moisturizing properties. Despite all the health benefits, consumption of coconut oil is still underrated due to a lack of supportive scientific evidence. Even though studies done in Asian countries claim a favorable impact on cardiac health and serum lipid profile, the limitations in the number of studies conducted among Western countries impede the endorsement of the real value of coconut oil. Hence, long-term extensive studies with proper methodologies are suggested to clear all the controversies and misconceptions of coconut oil consumption. This review discusses the composition and functional properties of coconut oils extracted using various processing methods