Aim The plant species reported here are traditionally used in Northern Peru to treat bacterial infections, often addressed by the local healers as “inflammation”. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of their antibacterial properties against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Materials and methods The antimicrobial activity of ethanolic and water extracts of 141 plant species was determined using a deep-well broth microdilution method on commercially available bacterial strains. Results The ethanolic extracts of 51 species inhibited Escherichia coli, and 114 ethanolic extracts inhibited Staphylococcus aureus. In contrast, only 30 aqueous extracts showed activity against E. coli and 38 extracts against S. aureus. The MIC concentrations were mostly very high and ranged from 0.008 to 256mg/ml, with only 36 species showing inhibitory concentrations of <4mg/ml. The ethanolic extracts exhibited stronger activity and a much broader spectrum of action than the aqueous extracts. Hypericum laricifolium, Hura crepitans, Caesalpinia paipai, Cassia fistula, Hyptis sidifolia, Salvia sp., Banisteriopsis caapi, Miconia salicifolia and Polygonum hydropiperoides showed the lowest MIC values and would be interesting candidates for future research. Conclusions The presence of antibacterial activity could be confirmed in most species used in traditional medicine in Peru which were assayed in this study. However, the MIC for the species employed showed a very large range, and were mostly very high. Nevertheless, traditional knowledge might provide some leads to elucidate potential candidates for future development of new antibiotic agents.

Background and Aims Liver injury due to COVID-19 is being increasingly recognized. Abnormal liver chemistry tests of varying severities occur in a majority of patients. However, there is a dearth of accompanying liver histologic studies in these patients. Methods: The current report details the clinical courses of two patients having severe COVID-19 hepatitis. Liver biopsies were analyzed under light microscopy, portions of liver tissue were hybridized with a target probe to the SARS-CoV-2 S gene, and small sections from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded liver tissue were processed for electron microscopy. Results The liver histology of both cases showed a mixed inflammatory infiltrate with prominent bile duct damage, endotheliitis and many apoptotic bodies. In-situ hybridization and electron microscopy suggest the intrahepatic presence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the findings of which may indicate the possibility of direct cell injury. Conclusions Based on the abundant apoptosis and severe cholangiocyte injury, these histopathological changes suggest a direct cytopathic injury. Furthermore, some of the histopathological changes may resemble acute cellular rejection occurring after liver transplantation. These two cases demonstrate that severe COVID-19 hepatitis can occur even in the absence of significant involvement of other organs.

had a much lower efficacy against bacteria and fell within the range of species that are traditionally used to treat other bodily disorders. ResumenInfecciones bacterianas e inflamación se encuentran entre las enfermedades tratadas por curanderos tradicionales. La Organización Mundial de Salud se ha expresada como altamente interesada en la Medicina Tradicional, y es importante demostrar cientí-ficamente que los remedios usados en la medicina The aim of the study was to scientifically test whether plants used in TM for the treatment of infections showed antibacterial activity, and to delineate a number of candidates for further in-depth study of their Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and toxicity. One-hundred-ninety-three ethanolic extracts and 31 water extracts were active against S. aureus. In twentyone cases only the water extract showed activity. None of the aqueous extracts were active against the other three bacteria, with the activity of the ethanolic extracts also much reduced, as only 36 showed any activity against E. coli, and 3 each against S. enterica Typhi and P. aeruginosa. Two-hundred-twenty-five extracts came from species that are traditionally employed against bacterial infections. One-hundred-sixty-six (73.8%) of these were active against at least one bacterium. Of the three-hundred extracts from plants without traditional antibacterial use, only 96 (32%) showed any activity Plants used for respiratory disorders, inflammation/infection, wounds, diarrhea, and to prevent post partum infections were efficacious in 70-88% of the tests. Plants used for "kidney inflammation"Published: February 25, 2011

No abstract