The development of resistance in bacteria against commonly used antibiotics/drugs is of considerable medical significance. Aim of this study was to determine the microbial load of un-pasteurized packed fruit juices sold in Lahore city and to determine antibacterial activity of five different honey samples against isolated bacteria. Unpasteurized fruit juice samples (n=60) were collected from street vendors. All the samples were subjected to Total viable count (TVC), Staphylococcal count (SC) and Coliform count (CC). One hundred and ten strains of bacteria were isolated from various fruit juices and identified on the basis of cultural characters, morphology and biochemical characters. Mean TVCs, SCs and CCs of juices (6.80±1.91, 5.45±1.06 and 3.25±1.25 log10 CFU/ml respectively) were non-significant with standard permissible limits (p<0.05). Among all the fruit juices, 66.66% of samples had TVC more than 4 log10 CFU/ml, 51.66% of samples had SC more than 3 log10 CFU/ml and 46.66% of samples had CC more than 2 log10 CFU/ml. Among the bacillus isolates purified, were Bacillus alvei, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus polymyxa, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli and Enterobecter. All five different types of honey samples used in this study showed antibacterial activity against B. alvei, B. polymyxa, B. subtilis and S. aureus and no activity against P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, Enterobecter and E. coli. It is concluded that microbial load in unpasteurized fruit juices is significantly higher than standard permissible limits which insinuates its possible role in spoilage and food borne illnesses. Periodic monitoring of packed fruit juices should be carried out to make them safe for consumption. Honey can be used as an alternative for treatment of various infections, especially those caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria.

The antibacterial potency of aqueous and methanol extracts of garlic was determined invitro against three bacterial isolates (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) by agar well diffusion method. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannin, flavonoid, carbohydrate, protein, saponin, alkaloid and glycoside in the plants while anthraquinone was absent. Both the aqueous and methanol extract of garlic were observed to be more potent against E. coli with maximum zone of growth inhibition of 21.5mm at 200mg/ml and 24.0mm at 200mg/ml respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the aqueous and methanol extracts of garlic against E. coli was 100mg/ml and 50mg/ml respectively, and for S. aureus it was 200mg/ml and 100mg/ml respectively. Similarly, The MIC against Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the aqueous and methanol extracts was 200mg/ml and 200mg/ml respectively. Higher minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 300mg/ml was observed against P. aeruginosa with aqueous extract and 250mg/ml with the methanol extract. The MBC for both the aqueous and methanol extract was 200mg/ml respectively against E. coli while MBC of 300mg/ml was observed against S. aureus for the aqueous extract and 200mg/ml for the methanol extract. These findings therefore justify the traditional medicinal use of garlic.

The leaves of Terminalia catappa were air dried, grounded and soaked with ethanol. The extracts obtained (47.23g, TC1) was fractionated sequentially using aqueous methanol with petroleum ether, chloroform and ethyl acetate respectively. The residue of ethanol extract (marc) was extracted with 5M HCl, basified and extracted with chloroform. These were labeled as TC1-01-TC1-05 for the plant. Each of these fractions was phytochemically screened to detect the class of secondary metabolite present. The fractions obtained from the plant were found to be selectively active against brine shrimp larvae. These fractions were also subjected to antimalaria parasites bioassay. Fractions TC1, TC1-02 and TC1-05 were found to be active against tested organisms, with TC1-02 being the most active. TC1-02 was further subjected to activity guided column chromatography that led to the isolation of two pure compounds TC1-02-1 and TC1-02-64. Compound TC1-02-64 was found to be active against the malaria parasite. This was further purified and subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis.

No abstract

Acute diarrhoea remains as one of the most prevalent diseases affecting young children in developing countries. The objective of the study is to isolate, characterized and determine the antibiotic sensitivity profile of Salmonella typhi associated with acute diarrhoea among children in Kano, Nigeria. Thirty-seven (37) Faecal samples from children (ranges from 1 -5 years) diagnosed with acute diarrhoea admitted to paediatric ward of Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital Kano were collected. The samples were streaked onto the surface of plate containing Nutrient agar using standard method for bacterial isolation. The Salmonella typhi was identified based on Gram staining, cultural characteristics and biochemical test. The bacteria isolate was subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing using the agar disc diffusion method. The result showed 22 out of 37 samples were positive for Salmonella typhi which accounted for 59.6%. Higher incidence of Salmonella was found among subjects of age between 2 -3 years. The sensitivity pattern of the isolate showed that it is sensitive to ampicillin, Augmentin, amoxicillin, levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Amoxicillin was found to be the most effect antibiotic with average zone of inhibition of 23.3 mm. On the other hand, the isolate was resistant to streptomycin, pefloxacin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin and erythromycin. Findings of this study justify Salmonella as one of the bacteria causing acute diarrhoea in children.