METHODS: Snake (Reticulatus malayanus), rats (Rattus rattus), water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator), frog (Lithobates catesbeianus), fish (Oreochromis mossambicus), chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), and pigeon (Columba livia) were dissected and their organ lysates/sera were collected. Crude extracts were tested for bactericidal effects against neuropathogenic E. coli K1, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. To determine whether lysates/sera protect human cells against bacterialmediated damage, cytotoxicity assays were performed by measuring lactate dehydrogenase release as an indicator of cell death. Lysates/sera were partially characterized using heat-treatment and pronasetreatment and peptide sequences were determined using the Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS).
RESULTS: Snake and water monitor lizard sera exhibited potent broad-spectrum bactericidal effects against all bacteria tested. Heat inactivation and pronase-treatment inhibited bactericidal effects indicating that activity is heat-labile and pronase-sensitive suggesting that active molecules are proteinaceous in nature. LCMS analyses revealed the molecular identities of peptides.
CONCLUSION: The results revealed that python that feeds on germ-infested rodents and water monitor lizards that feed on rotten organic waste possess antibacterial activity in a heat-sensitive manner and several peptides were identified. We hope that the discovery of antibacterial activity in the sera of animals living in polluted environments will stimulate research in finding antibacterial agents from unusual sources as this has the potential for the development of novel strategies in the control of infectious diseases.
AIM OF THE STUDY: However, there are no scientific reports documented on the wound healing activities of this plant against Staphylococcus aureus infections in the Sprague Dawley male rat model. Thus, the present study was conducted to evaluate the wound healing potential of E. guineensis extract leaves.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The crude extract was prepared in 10% (w/w) ointment and evaluated for wound healing activity using excision and infected wound models in Sprague Dawley rats. The wound healing activity was evaluated from wound closure rate, CFU reduction, histological analysis of granulation tissue and matrix metalloprotease expression.
RESULTS: The results show that the E. guineensis extract has potent wound healing ability, as manifest from improved wound closure and tissue regeneration supported by histopathological parameters. Assessment of granulation tissue every fourth day showed a significant reduction in the microbial count. The expression of matrix metalloproteinases was well correlated with the other results, hence confirming E. guineensis wound healing activity's effectiveness.
CONCLUSIONS: E. guineensis enhanced infected wound healing in rats, thus supporting its traditional use.
METHODS: Two hundred and nine MRSA strains from year 2011 to 2012 were collected from a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia. The strains were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, detection of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) gene, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Patient's demographic and clinical data were collected and correlated with molecular data by statistical analysis.
RESULTS: Male gender and patient >50 years of age (p