Salmonella Typhimurium as a potential anticancer agent: A Review

Bacteria mediated cancer therapy has not been used as much as other methods, despite being considered a potential adjunct in anticancer therapeutic strategy for decades. However, in recent years, there has been considerable interest in exploration of the option of bacteria mediated cancer immunotherapy. The conventional anticancer therapy does not eradicate cancer completely. It often fails and has several other limitations which can easily be overcome through the bacteria mediated approach as an adjunctive therapy. Members of the genus Salmonella have the ability to colonize all forms of tumours and their metastasis much more efficiently than other bacteria. Salmonella has over 2500 serovars of which Salmonella Typhimurium, a non-typhoidal strain, is the most extensively studied for its anticancer activity. S. Typhimurium has the intrinsic attribute of being able to selectively colonize solid tumours and their metastasis. S. Typhimurium is able to target and destroy tumours in three specific ways; inducing immune response to the presence of tumours, utilizing bacterial toxins to directly activate caspase-3, ( an important enzyme of the apoptotic pathway) and also as a vector in delivering of anti-cancer compounds to tumour sites. S. Typhimurium is currently considered as a bacterium with great potential in the field of cancer immunotherapy. In this review, the explanation of the mechanisms of anticancer activity of live attenuated and engineered S.  Typhimurium strains in vitro and in vivo is attempted.</p

Clinical Study The Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Salmonella typhi among Patients Attending a Military Hospital in Minna, Nigeria

The threat to human health posed by antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens is of growing concern to medical practice. This study investigated the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Salmonella typhi isolated from blood specimen. One hundred blood samples were collected from suspected typhoid fever patients in 31 Artillery Brigade Medical Centre, Minna, and were analyzed for S. typhi while antibiotic sensitivity testing was done Kirby-Bauer method. Sixty (60.0%) samples out of the total 100 were positive for bacterial growth. The organisms isolated 2 include Salmonella typhi; 45 (75.0%), Shigella; 6 (10.0%), E. coli; 3 (5.0%), Klebsiella; 3 (5.0%), Enterobacter; 2 (3.3%), and Citrobacter; 1 (1.7%). Result of the sensitivity test showed that the isolates were resistant to all the antibiotics; ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, amoxicillin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and augmentin, which are the drug of choice routinely used in the study area for the treatment of typhoid fever. They were however sensitive to chloramphenicol and ofloxacin, which, unfortunately, are not used in this study area for the treatment of typhoid fever. There appear to be multiple drug resistant (MDR) strain of S. typhi in the study area. These may be as a result of overdependence or uncontrolled use of the few available antibiotics and/or inaccurate or inconclusive diagnosis resulting in the development and spread of resistant strains of S. typhi. The study, therefore, highlights the need for a strong collaboration between the physicians and the laboratory in the choice of antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial diseases in order to discourage the development of resistant strain of bacterial pathogen

Phytochemical and antibacterial study of stem extracts of Euphorbia heterophylla on some enteric bacteria

A study was carried out to determine the phytochemical components and antibacterial activity of Euphorbia heterophylla crude extracts on four enteric bacteria namely; Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris. The isolates of Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, E.coli and Proteus vulgaris were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test using agar diffusion technique. Phytochemical tests of the Euphorbia heterophylla crude extracts revealed the presence of starch, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins and tannins. Methanolic and aqueous crude extracts produced clear zones of inhibition such as, 8.33±0.67g 6.33±0.88f 7.00±1.15fg 7.67±0.33e and 5.67±1.20ef 5.33±0.67def 6.00±0.58ef 5.33±0.33e ; 10.67±1.21g 10.33±0.90h 4.67±1.40bc 9.67±1.67efg and 9.67±1.22efg 8.67±0.86fgh 9.67±1.20ef 10.33±0.33fg; 14.00±0.60e 12.00±1.15f 12.33±1.45f 12.00±1.00e and 12.33±0.90de 11.33±0.33e 11.67±1.20ef 11.00±1.00de; 16.33±0.33f 15.33±0.33f 15.67±0.90e 15.33±1.20f and 14.67±0.33e 14.00±0.60f 14.33±0.33e 14.00±0.00f, at concentrations ranging from 50 to 200mg/ml. In vivo antimicrobial assay revealed that the mice treated with the crude methanolic and aqueous extracts, after being infected with the various test organisms, survived and showed mild pathological effects. Similarly, untreated mice (control) died after 48hours of inoculation with Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, E.coli and Proteus vulgaris. Euphorbia heterophylla based on the methanolic and aqueous extracts activity, could be a potential source for the treatment of diseases associated with enteric organisms such as Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, E.coli and Proteus vulgaris. Further studies should be directed towards isolation and characterization of the active compound in the crude extracts.Keywords: Bioactive components; Antibacterial activity; Euphorbia heterophylla; Enteric bacteria; Toxicit

The Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Salmonella typhi among Patients Attending a Military Hospital in Minna, Nigeria

The threat to human health posed by antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens is of growing concern to medical practice. This study investigated the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Salmonella typhi isolated from blood specimen. One hundred blood samples were collected from suspected typhoid fever patients in 31 Artillery Brigade Medical Centre, Minna, and were analyzed for S. typhi while antibiotic sensitivity testing was done Kirby-Bauer method. Sixty (60.0%) samples out of the total 100 were positive for bacterial growth. The organisms isolated 2 include Salmonella typhi; 45 (75.0%), Shigella; 6 (10.0%), E. coli; 3 (5.0%), Klebsiella; 3 (5.0%), Enterobacter; 2 (3.3%), and Citrobacter; 1 (1.7%). Result of the sensitivity test showed that the isolates were resistant to all the antibiotics; ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, amoxicillin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and augmentin, which are the drug of choice routinely used in the study area for the treatment of typhoid fever. They were however sensitive to chloramphenicol and ofloxacin, which, unfortunately, are not used in this study area for the treatment of typhoid fever. There appear to be multiple drug resistant (MDR) strain of S. typhi in the study area. These may be as a result of overdependence or uncontrolled use of the few available antibiotics and/or inaccurate or inconclusive diagnosis resulting in the development and spread of resistant strains of S. typhi. The study, therefore, highlights the need for a strong collaboration between the physicians and the laboratory in the choice of antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial diseases in order to discourage the development of resistant strain of bacterial pathogen

Isolation and characterisation of microorganisms contaminating herbal infusion sold in Minna, Nigeria

The microbiological assessment of ten herbal infusion samples from ten different locations in Minna, Niger State was investigated. The assessment of the microbial contamination on the herbal products was carried out, using standard methods. Pour plate method was used to cultivate serially diluted portions of the medicinal plant infusion samples. The results revealed that all the herbal preparations had the presence of microbial contaminants. The total heterotrophic counts of the different herbal samples ranged from 0 cfu/mL to 25.0 × 108cfu/mL while the total fungal counts ranged from 3.0×106cfu/mL to 3.5×108cfu/mL. The total viable bacteria counts showed that the highest counts of 25.0 × 108cfu/mL was recorded in the sample from Bosso and the least counts of 0 cfu/mL from Kasuwan-Gwari while the total fungal counts showed that the highest count of 3.5×108cfu/mL was found in the sample obtained from FUT campus and the least counts of 3.0×106cfu/mL in the sample from Mai-Kunkele. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that there was significant difference (p<0.05) in the microbial load of the herbal infusions from each location. The microbial isolates identified were E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella sp, Klebsiella sp, Pseudomonas sp, Micrococcus sp, Salmonella sp, Aspergillus sp, Penicillium sp and Saccharomyces cerevisaie. Members of the genus Aspergillus were found to be predominant. This suggests that the herbal infusion harbors microorganisms that could be hazardous to human health and hence producers should maintain the highest possible level of hygiene during the processing and packaging of the products in order to ensure safety of the products