METHODS: Growth inhibitory indices and fractional inhibitory concentration index were applied to evaluate the in vitro synergistic activity of phytoextract-antibiotic combinations in general.
FINDINGS: A number of studies have indicated that plant-derived natural compounds are capable of significantly reducing the minimum inhibitory concentration of standard antibiotics by altering drug-resistance mechanisms of B. anthracis and other superbug infection causing bacteria. Phytochemical compounds allicin, oleanolic acid, epigallocatechin gallate and curcumin and Jatropha curcas extracts were exceptional synergistic potentiators of various standard antibiotics.
CONCLUSION: Considering these facts, phytochemicals represents a valuable and novel source of bioactive compounds with potent antibiotic synergism to modulate bacterial drug-resistance.
METHODS: Healthy subjects of Chinese (n = 12), Malay (n = 12) and Indian (n = 10) ancestry, aged 21-37 years, were enrolled. They provided a baseline stool sample (Day 1) and were then given a course of omeprazole at therapeutic dose (20 mg daily) for seven days. Stool samples were collected again on Day 7 and 14 (one week after stopping omeprazole). Microbial DNA was extracted from the stool samples, followed by polymerase chain reaction, library construction, 16S rRNA sequencing using Illumina MiSeq, and statistical and bioinformatics analyses.
RESULTS: The findings showed an increase in species richness (p = 0.018) after omeprazole consumption on Day 7, which reverted to baseline on Day 14. There were significant increases in the relative abundance of Streptococcus vestibularis (p = 0.0001) and Veillonella dispar (p = 0.0001) on Day 7, which diminished on Day 14. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Sutterella stercoricanis and Bacteroides denticanum were characteristic of Chinese, Malays and Indians, respectively. Lactobacillaceae and Bacteroides xylanisolvens were the signature taxa of male and female subjects, respectively.
CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated alterations in the gut microbiome following omeprazole treatment. This may explain the underlying pathology of increased risk of Clostridium difficile infections associated with omeprazole therapy.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to July 2019 on 126 students and 37 laboratory staff/clinical instructors' MPs from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia by a simple random sampling technique. Along with the questionnaire, a swab sample from each participant's MPs was collected and transported to the microbiology laboratory for bacterial culture as per standard microbiological procedures and antimicrobial susceptibility test by the disc diffusion technique. Data were analysed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Programme version 24.
Results: All of the tested MPs were contaminated with either single or mix bacterial agents. Bacillus spp. (74.8%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS; 47.9%) and S. aureus (20.9%) were the most predominant bacterial isolates, whilst the least isolate was Proteus vulgaris (P. vulgaris) (2.5%). Oxacillin resistance was seen in 5.9% of S. aureus isolate. A comparison of bacteria type and frequency among gender showed a significant difference with P. vulgaris (P = 0.003) and among profession showed a significant difference with S. aureus (P = 0.004).
Conclusion: The present study indicates that MPs can serve as a vector for both pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms. Therefore, full guidelines about restricting the use of MPs in laboratory environments, hand hygiene and frequent decontamination of MPs are recommended to limit the risk of cross-contamination and healthcare-associated infections caused by MPs.