Natural products like plants and its components have been in use for treatment and cure of diseases all around the globe from ancient times much before the discovery of the current modern drugs. These substances from the nature are well known to contain components which have therapeutic properties and can also behave as precursors for the synthesis of potential drugs. The beneficial results from herbal drugs are well reported where their popularity in usage has increased across the globe. Subsequently developing countries are now recognizing the many positive advantages from their use which has engaged the expansion of R & D from herbal research. The flow on effect from this expansion has increased the awareness to develop new herbal products and the processes, throughout the entire world. Mouth washes and mouth rinses which have plant oils, plant components or extracts have generated particular attention. High prevalence of gingival inflammation and periodontal diseases, suggests majority of the patients practice inadequate plaque control. Of the currently available mouthwashes in the market, Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) has been investigated on a larger scale with much detail. CHX is associated with side effects like staining of teeth when used daily as well as the bitter taste of the mouthwash which leads to patient incompliance. The present research encompasses the antibacterial activity of extemporaneously prepared herbal mouthwash using natural herbs and therefore allows for the potential commercialization with in the herbal and pharmaceutical industries. Also, the present research article reviewed details of various existing patents of herbal mouthwashes which shows the trend of existing market and significance of emerging mouthwashes in both pharmaceutical and herbal industries. The antimicrobial activity of prepared mouthwashes was found to be effective against various strains of bacteria. It also suggests that the prepared herbal mouthwashes may provide an alternative to those containing chemical entities, with enhanced antimicrobial properties and better patient compliance.
Staphylococci are facultative anaerobes, perfectly spherical un-encapsulated cocci, with a diameter not exceeding 1 micrometer in diameter. Staphylococcus aureus are generally harmless and remain confined to the skin unless they burrow deep into the body, causing life-threatening infections in bones, joints, bloodstream, heart valves and lungs. Among the 20 medically important staphylococci species, Staphylococcus aureus is one of the emerging human pathogens. Streptomycin had its highest potency against Staphylococcus infections despite the likelihood of getting a resistant type of staphylococcus strains. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is the persister type of Staphylococcus aureus and was evolved after decades of antibiotic misuse. Inadequate penetration of the antibiotic is one of the principal factors related to success/failure of the therapy. The active drug needs to reach the bacteria at concentrations necessary to kill or suppress the pathogen's growth. In turn the effectiveness of the treatment relied on the physical properties of Staphylococcus aureus. Thus understanding the cell integrity, shape and roughness is crucial to the overall influence of the therapeutic agent on S. aureus of different origins. Hence our experiments were designed to clarify ultrastructural changes of S. aureus treated with streptomycin (synthetic compound) in comparison to artonin E (natural compound). In addition to the standard in vitro microbial techniques, we used transmission electron microscopy to study the disrupted cell architecture under antibacterial regimen and we correlate this with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to compare results of both techniques.
The outbreak of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has become an increasing problem in many TB-burdened countries. The underlying drug resistance mechanisms, including the genetic variation favored by selective pressure in the resistant population, are partially understood. Recently, the first case of XDR-TB was reported in Malaysia. However, the detailed genotype family and mechanisms of the formation of multiple drugs resistance are unknown. We sequenced the whole genome of the UM 1072388579 strain with a 2-kb insert-size library and combined with that from previously sequenced 500-bp-insert paired-end reads to produce an improved sequence with maximal sequencing coverage across the genome. In silico spoligotyping and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that UM 1072388579 strain belongs to an ancestral-like, non-Beijing clade of East Asia lineage. This is supported by the presence of a number of lineage-specific markers, including fadD28, embA, nuoD and pks7. Polymorphism analysis showed that the drug-susceptibility profile is correlated with the pattern of resistance mutations. Mutations in drug-efflux pumps and the cell wall biogenesis pathway such as mmpL, pks and fadD genes may play an important role in survival and adaptation of this strain to its surrounding environment. In this work, fifty-seven putative promoter SNPs were identified. Among them, we identified a novel SNP located at -4 T allele of TetR/acrR promoter as an informative marker to recognize strains of East Asian lineage. Our work indicates that the UM 1072388579 harbors both classical and uncommon SNPs that allow it to escape from inhibition by many antibiotics. This study provides a strong foundation to dissect the biology and underlying resistance mechanisms of the first reported XDR M. tuberculosis in Malaysia.
A large-scale in vitro screening of tropical plants using an antibacterial assay permitted the selection of several species with significant antibacterial activities. Bioassay-guided purification of the dichloromethane extract of the leaves of the Malaysian species Vitex vestita, led to the isolation of six new labdane-type diterpenoids, namely, 12-epivitexolide A (2), vitexolides B and C (3 and 4), vitexolide E (8), and vitexolins A and B (5 and 6), along with six known compounds, vitexolides A (1) and D (7), acuminolide (9), 3β-hydroxyanticopalic acid (10), 8α-hydroxyanticopalic acid (11), and 6α-hydroxyanticopalic acid (12). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR analyses and HRMS experiments. Both variable-temperature NMR spectroscopic studies and chemical modifications were performed to investigate the dynamic epimerization of the γ-hydroxybutenolide moiety of compounds 1-4. Compounds were assayed against a panel of 46 Gram-positive strains. Vitexolide A (1) exhibited the most potent antibacterial activity with minimal inhibitory concentration values ranging from 6 to 96 μM, whereas compounds 2 and 6-9 showed moderate antibacterial activity. The presence of a β-hydroxyalkyl-γ-hydroxybutenolide subunit contributed significantly to antibacterial activity. Compounds 1-4 and 6-9 showed cytotoxic activities against the HCT-116 cancer cell line (1 < IC50s < 10 μM) and human fetal lung fibroblast MRC5 cell line (1 < IC50s < 10 μM for compounds 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9).
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a health problem globally despite the availability of effective vaccines. In the assembly of the infectious virion, both the preS and S regions of the HBV large surface antigen (L-HBsAg) interact synergistically with the viral core antigen (HBcAg). Peptides preS and S based on the L-HBsAg were demonstrated as potential inhibitors to block the viral assembly. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the solution structures of these peptides and study their interactions with HBcAg. The solution structures of these peptides were solved using (1)H, (13)C, and (15)N NMR spectroscopy. Peptide preS has several structured regions of β-turns at Ser7-Pro8-Pro9, Arg11-Thr12-Thr13 and Ser22-Thr23-Thr24 sequences whereas peptide S has only one structured region observed at Ser3-Asn4-His5. Both peptides contain bend-like structures surrounding the turn structures. Docking studies revealed that both peptides interacted with the immunodominant region of HBcAg located at the tip of the viral capsid spikes. Saturation Transfer Difference (STD) NMR experiments identified several aromatic residues in peptides preS and S that interact with HBcAg. This study provides insights into the contact regions of L-HBsAg and HBcAg at atomic resolution which can be used to design antiviral agents that inhibit HBV morphogenesis.
In an ongoing program to identify new anti-infective leads, an extract derived from whole plant material of Desmodium congestum collected in the Sarawak rainforest was found to have anti-MRSA activity. Bioassay-guided isolation led to the isolation of two new prenylated chalcones, 5'-O-methyl-3-hydroxyflemingin A (1) and 5'-O-methylflemingin C (2), which were closely related to the flemingins previously isolated from various Flemingia species. Chalcones 1 and 2, which were determined to be 4:6 enantiomeric mixtures by chiral HPLC, exhibited moderate activity against a panel of Gram-positive bacteria and were also cytotoxic to the HEK293 human embryonic kidney cell line.
Antiseptics are commonly used for the management of MDR (multiple drug resistance) pathogens in hospitals. They play crucial roles in the infection control practices. Antiseptics are often used for skin antisepsis, gauze dressing, preparation of anatomical sites for surgical procedure, hand sterilization before in contact with an infected person, before an invasive procedure and as surgical scrub.
To determine the proportion of albicans and non-albicans candiduria in a hospital setting and to ascertain if fluconazole is still suitable as empirical antifungal therapy based on antifungal susceptibility patterns of Candida species.
During a 1-year period from October 1995 to September 1996, 273 isolations of Streptococcus pneumoniae were made from various types of clinical specimens. The majority of the isolates (39.2%) were from sputum whilst 27.5% were from blood, CSF and other body fluids. The organism was isolated from patients of all age groups, 31.1% from children aged 10 years and below, 64.7% of which come from children aged 2 years or below. The majority of the isolates belong to serotypes 1, 6B, 19B, 19F and 23F. Serotypes 1 and 19B were the most common serotypes associated with invasive infection. About 71.9% of the invasive infections were due to serotypes included in the available 23 valent polysaccharide vaccine. The rates of resistance to penicillin and erythromycin were 7.0 and 1.1% respectively. Our findings show that the serotypes of S. pneumoniae causing most invasive infections in Malaysia are similar to those in other parts of the world and the available vaccine may have a useful role in this population.
A total of 102 Candida species were isolated from blood cultures from January 1997 to October 1999. Using assimilation of carbohydrate test, 52 (51.0%) of the Candida sp. were identified as C. parapsilosis, 25.5% (26) were C. tropicalis. C. albicans made up 11.8% (12), 6.9% (7) were C. rugosa, 3.8% (4) C. glabrata and 1% (1) C. guilliermondii. No C. dubliniensis was found in the study. In vitro antifungal susceptibility tests showed that all Candida species were sensitive to nystatin, amphotericin B and ketoconazole. Although all isolates remained sensitive to fluconazole, intermediate susceptibility was found in 3 C. rugosa isolates. Antifungal agents with high frequency of resistance were econazole, clotrimazole, miconazole and 5-fluorocytosine. Candida species found to have resistance to these antifungal agents were non-C. albicans.
In connection with our chemotaxonomic studies of Malaysian species of the red algal genus Laurencia, the chemical composition of Laurencia pannosa Zanardini was examined. Two halogenated sesquiterpenoids, named pannosanol (1) and pannosane (2), have been isolated along with a halogenated C15-acetogenin, (3Z)-chlorofucin (3). The structures of these compounds were determined from their spectroscopic data (IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 2D NMR, and MS). Pannosanol and pannosane are novel halometabolites with an unusual rearranged chamigrane framework. Antibacterial activities of these metabolites against marine bacteria are also described.
A total of 35 Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates from Thailand (16 clinical and eight soil isolates) and Malaysia (seven animal, two isolate each from clinical and soil) were investigated by their antimicrobial resistance, plasmid profiles and were typed by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis. All isolates were found to be resistant to six or more of the 12 antimicrobial agents tested. Only two small plasmids of 1.8 and 2.4 megadalton were detected in two clinical isolates from Thailand. RAPD analysis with primer GEN2-60-09 resulted in the identification of 35 RAPD-types among the 35 isolates. The constructed dendrogram differentiated the 35 isolates into two main clusters and a single isolate. The wide genetic biodiversity among the 35 isolates indicate that RAPD-PCR can be a useful method to differentiate unrelated B. pseudomallei in epidemiological investigation.
Antimicrobial susceptibility of 996 isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from clinical specimens was investigated in 11 Asian countries from September 1996 to June 1997. Korea had the greatest frequency of nonsusceptible strains to penicillin with 79.7%, followed by Japan (65.3%), Vietnam (60.8%), Thailand (57.9%), Sri Lanka (41.2%), Taiwan (38.7%), Singapore (23.1%), Indonesia (21.0%), China (9.8%), Malaysia (9.0%), and India (3.8%). Serotypes 23F and 19F were the most common. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of 154 isolates from Asian countries showed several major PFGE patterns. The serotype 23F Spanish clone shared the same PFGE pattern with strains from Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia. Fingerprinting analysis of pbp1a, pbp2x, and pbp2b genes of 12 strains from six countries also showed identical fingerprints of penicillin-binding protein genes in most strains. These data suggest the possible introduction and spread of international epidemic clones into Asian countries and the increasing problems of pneumococcal drug resistance in Asian countries for the first time.
A survey on the use of antibiotics in surgical prophylaxis was carried out in seven Malaysian hospitals. Details of antibiotic prescriptions were obtained through questionnaires completed by the prescriber. A total of 430 such prescriptions was analysed. A large number of different antibiotic regimens were used for a variety of surgical procedures. The majority of prescriptions (70%) were issued for procedures where such prophylaxis was probably not necessary. Antibiotics were also often prescribed for durations that were longer than necessary. There is an urgent need to educate surgeons and standardize surgical prophylactic regimens in order to reduce cost and combat the emergence of antibiotic resistance.
Tatumella ptyseos, the type species for the genus Tatumella, is a newly established member of the Family Enterobacteriaceae. It is a Gram-negative, oxidase negative, fermentative rod that grows on Mac Conkey agar. This first isolate was obtained from the blood culture of a neonate having neonatal jaundice with presumed sepsis. The organism was in vitro sensitive to Gentamicin, Chloramphenicol, Cotrimoxazole and Ampicillin. The patient was treated with Ampicillin and Gentamicin and recovered uneventfully.
Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and antimicrobial susceptibility analysis were undertaken on twenty-three strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Tshiongwe, an unusual serovar, which recently emerged in Malaysia. Antimicrobial susceptibility analysis showed that all the strains were sensitive to ampicilin, chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole, and kanamycin. Twenty (87%) and 8 (3.5%) strains had resistance to tetracycline and streptomycin respectively. PFGE analysis subtyped 23 strains into 10 profiles (Dice coefficient of similarity, F = 0.7-1.0). The predominant profile, X1 was found in both clinical and environmental isolates and was widely distributed in different parts of Malaysia during the study period. In addition, isolates recovered from food, a hand-towel, apron and the surface of a table-top in one particular location had unique, indistinguishable profiles (X4/4a) and identical antibiograms. Similarly, isolates from cooked meat and a chopping board had PFGE profiles similar to some human isolates. These probably indicated cross-contamination and poor hygiene in food practices, hence contributing to Salmonellosis. Factors causing the emergence of this rare Salmonella serovar being responsible for food poisoning episodes during the study period remained unclear. The study reiterated the usefulness and versatility of PFGE in the molecular subtyping of this rare Salmonella serovar in Malaysia.
DNA fingerprinting of Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi B isolated in Malaysia during 1982-83, 1992 and 1996-2002 was carried out by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), antimicrobial susceptibility tests and D-tartrate utilization tests to assess the extent of genetic diversity of these isolates in Malaysia.