No abstract

BackgroundGroup B Streptococcus (GBS) is a harmless commensal bacterium in healthy adults but it causes sepsis in neonates resulting in a high rate of mortality. This study was carried out to investigate the antibacterial activity of Bryophyllum pinnatum and Rauvol a vomitoria bioactive fractions on thirty-ve multidrug resistant Group B Streptococcus (GBS) strains implicated on neonatal sepsis as well as to identify the antibiotic resistant genes present. The phytochemical analyses were carried out using column chromatography. Antibacterial activity, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bacteria Concentration (MBC) of the different plant biofractions was determined using disc diffusion technique. The presence of erythromycin (ermB) and tetracycline (tetO) resistant genes was identi ed using duplex PCR techniques. Graphing was done using Graph pad prism (version 5.0a). ResultThe results obtained from this study show that the selected plants have dose dependent activity against GBS. Ethanol biofraction of R. vomitoria had the highest activity with an MIC value ranges between 12.5 mg/ml and 50 mg/ml and MBC ranges from 25 mg/ml and 50 mg/ml followed by methanol biofraction of B. pinnatum with an MIC value ranging between 50mg/ml and 100mg/ml on 32 out of the 35 strains investigated, leaving the other three having MIC values of 25 mg/ml then MBC values ranging between 50 mg/ml and 100mg/ml while N-hexane and aqueous biofractions had the least activity. Also, the presence of ermB and tetO resistant genes were present in all the ten representative GBS strains tested. ConclusionThe high rate of activity shown by the methanol and ethanol extracts of both plants suggests that the plants can serve as a potential alternative for the treatment of neonatal sepsis. However, a further study on their in vivo activity is important in order to evaluate the e ciency, safety and potential adverse effects and drug herb interactions of the plants.

Wheat bran, groundnut shell, watermelon peel and corn bran were analyzed for chemical composition and amino acid profile. A feeding trial was conducted to assess their effect on biochemical profile and liver histology of rats. Watermelon peel obtained the highest dry matter content (91.93±0.03 g/100g), followed by groundnut shell meal (89.57±0.31 g/100g). Carbohydrate content ranged between 35.28±0.08 g/100g and 65.19±0.13 g/100g. Crude protein content ranged between 6.53±0.06 g/100g (groundnut shell meal) and 10.88±0.02 g/100g (wheat bran). Liver histopathology revealed normal architecture. The nutritional analyses of the wastes revealed rich nutritional content which may be explored for feed ingredient in livestock production. Further processing of these wastes may further enhance their nutritional composition; thereby providing alternative cheap animal feed for improved animal production and consequently improved animal protein consumption in developing countries.

Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) is a coniferous plant that possesses different biological properties such as antiseptic, antioxidant, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory. This study investigated the chemical constituents and in vitro antibacterial activities of essential oil (EO) of Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) against thirteen bacterial species using Gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry (GC/MS) and standard agar well diffusion assay. The EO exhibited excellent antibacterial activity inhibiting all the bacterial isolates tested with the diameter zone of inhibitions (Zi) ranging from 8–24 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) ranged between 0.025mg/ml and 25.000mg/ml. The highest antibacterial activity was recorded against Micrococcus luteus NCIB 196 and Klebsiella pneumonia NCIB 418 (Zi = 24 mm), while the lowest activity was recorded against Proteus vulgaris (Zi = 8 mm). The GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of 30 chemical compounds, of which seven possess antibacterial properties. These include three oxygenated monoterpenes (α-terpineol, borneol, and fenchol), two sesquiterpenes (caryophyllene and δ-cadinene), one saturated fatty acid (palmitic acid) and monounsaturated fatty acid (oleic acids). Therefore, the results suggest the potential of P. sylvestris as an antimicrobial agent for incorporation in the treatment of pathogens.

No abstract