Estimation of trace elements and in vitro biological activities of lichens extracts

Infectious diseases caused by etiological agents are still a major threat to public health. Their impact is particularly large in developing countries due to relative unavailability of medicine and the emergence of widespread drug resistance. In the current research, trace metals were detected in lichens species through inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The antimicrobial potency of Pseudevernia furfruracea, Physcia species, Dermatocarpon vellerum and Parmellia species [lichens] extracts have been investigated against three local clinical bacterial isolates i.e. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis through various agar disc and well diffusion methods. The antioxidant potential effect was also evaluated by DPPH and ABTS.+ free radical scavenging methods. Phytochemical constituents were screened through thin layer chromatography [TLC] and qualitative methods. Methanolic extract of P. furfruracea, Physcia spp, and D. vellerum showed a significant inhibition of S. epidermidis [14.3+/-1.7mm, 12.3+/-2.0mm, and 11.3+/-0.9mm] by pouring method of disc diffusion. Moderate zone of inhibition [8.0+/-1.4 mm] against S. epidermidis was observed by methanolic extract of Parmellia spp, through spreading method. All the results were evaluated by ANOVA and LSD tests at p<0.05. The diethyl ether extracts showed considerable antioxidant potential activity with 80%, 81%, 79% and 66%. Thin layer chromatography profiling gave us the idea about the presence of phytochemical constituents such as tannins, phenols, saponins, and terpenoids. Various Rf values on silica gel plates provided the valuable clues about polarity and the selection of solvents for separation of phytochemicals. Significant inhibition of E. coli was also observed through TLC-Bioautography. The findings revealed the considerable inhibitory and antioxidant effect of lichens may be due to the presence of bioactive compounds. Therefore, lichens could be a potential source of new antimicrobial and antioxidant agents

Biological activities of Allium sativum and Zingiber officinale extracts on clinically important bacterial pathogens, their phytochemical and FT-IR spectroscopic analysis

The spread of bacterial infectious diseases is a major public threat. Herbs and spices have offered an excellent, important and useful source of antimicrobial agents against many pathological infections. In the current study, the antimicrobial potency of fresh, naturally and commercial dried Allium sativum and Zingiber officinale extracts had been investigated against seven local clinical bacterial isolates such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Serratia marcesnces by the agar disc diffusion method. All tested pathogens except P. aeruginosa and E. coli were most susceptible to ethanolic and methanolic extracts of A. sativum. Similarly, chloroform and diethyl ether extracts of Z. officinale showed a greater zone of inhibition of tested pathogens except for P. aeruginosa and E. coli. We found that all extracts of A. sativum and Z. officinale have a strong antibacterial effect compared to recommended standard antibiotics through activity index. All results were evaluated statistically and a significant difference was recorded at P< 0.05. Antioxidant activity of extracts showed that 10 out of 13 extracts have high scavenging potential. Thin layer chromatography profiling of all extracts of A. sativum and Z. officinale proposed the presence of various phytochemicals such as tannins, phenols, alkaloids, steroids and saponins. Retention factor of diverse phytochemicals provides a valuable clue regarding their polarity and the selection of solvents for separation of phytochemicals. Significant inhibition of S. aureus was also observed through TLC-Bioautography. FT-IR Spectrometry was also performed to characterize both natural and commercial extracts of A. sativum and Z. officinale to evaluate bioactive compounds. These findings provide new insights to use A. sativum and Z. officinale as potential plant sources for controlling pathogenic bacteria and potentially considered as cost-effective in the management of diseases and to the threat of drug resistance phenomenon

Antibacterial activity of different plant extracts and antibiotics on pathogenic bacterial isolates from wheat field water

The present work was carried out to study bacterial pathogens isolated from wheat field water and also effect of some plant extracts on these bacterial pathogens. Five bacterial strains were isolated from wheat field water. Different morphological and biochemical tests were performed to identify and characterize bacterial pathogens. Among isolated strains two belonged to genus Staphylococcus sp., other two were Pseudomonas spp. and one strain belonged to genus Salmonella sp. Effect of various parameters such as temperature, pH, antibiotics and heavy metals of these pathogens were also studied. Optimum temperature for all bacterial strains was 37°C and optimum pH was 7 except strain 3 which had pH 6. Different antibiotics with different potency were applied to check the resistance of bacterial strains against them. Among these antibiotics Cloxacillin and Teicoplanin were most potent while Oxacillin was as less potent antibiotic because three bacterial strains were resistant against it. While remaining antibiotics proved as potent. Seven heavy metals which were zinc [Zn[+2]], copper [Cu[+2]], Ferrous [Fe[+2]], mercury [Hg[+2]], Nickel [Ni[+2]], chromium [Cr[+2]]and cobalt [Co[+2]] with different concentrations were applied to bacterial strains. Minimum inhibitory concentration of heavy metals for all bacterial was different. Different plant extracts [Artemezia incise, Colebrookia oppositifolia, Rhynchosia pseudocajan] checked for their antibacterial activity against these pathogens. These plant extracts showed antibacterial activity against antibiotic and metal resistant bacterial isolates

Effect of medicinal plants, Heavy metals and antibiotics against P pathogenic bacteria isolated from raw, Boiled and pasteurized milk

Present study has been undertaken to isolate and identify the bacterial flora in raw, boiled and pasteurized milk. Agar disc diffusion method was used to determine their sensitivity using medicinal plants, antibiotics and heavy metals. Methylene blue reduction test was used to test the quality of milk samples. Total 10 pathogenic strains were isolated, five strains were isolated from raw milk, three from boiled milk and 2 two from pasteurized milk. To determine optimum conditions for growth, these pathogenic microorganisms were incubated at various temperatures and pH. Gram's staining and biochemical tests revealed that these pathogenic bacteria include Lactobacillus sp., E. coll, Salmonella sp., Pseudomonas sp., Streptococcus sp. and Staphylococcus. Ribotyping revealed S2 as Pseudomonas fluorescens, S5 as Lactococcus lactis and S9 as Lactobacillus acidophilus. Prevalence of pathogenic organisms provided the evidence that contamination of milk arises during milking, transportation and storage of milk. Raw milk is more contaminated than other two types of milk because it contains highest percentage of pathogenic organisms and pasteurized milk was found to be of best quality among three types. So it is recommended to drink milk after proper boiling or pasteurization. Proper pasteurization and hygienic packing of milk is essential to minimize contamination in milk which can save human beings from many milk borne diseases. Our study suggests that antimicrobial use in animal husbandry should be minimized to reduce the hazard of antibiotic resistance. Plant extracts are better alternative against pathogenic bacteria in milk

Short communication: in vitro screening of mucus and solvent extracts of Eisenia foetida against human bacterial and fungal pathogens

Earthworms are macro invertebrate and have been widely used as therapeutic drugs for thousands of years. In the current research, experiments viz., the antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activity of mucus and solvent extracts of Eisenia foetida were conducted to investigate for the first time in Pakistan against human infectious pathogens. Antimicrobial activity of E. foetida against human pathogens underwent investigation through an agar disc diffusion method while an ABTS+ free radical scavenging method assessed the antioxidant activity. The percentage of bacterial and fungal growth was analyzed statistically with One-Way Analysis of Variance [ANOVA]. Results showed that the mucus IV of E. foetida produced a strong potent antibacterial and antifungal activity. Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited the highest inhibition zone [33.67 +/- 1.53 mm], followed by Klebsiella pneumonia [30.33 +/- 1.53mm], Penicillium notatum [30 +/- 0.051], Escherichia coli [29 +/- 1 mm], Candida albicans [28.33 +/- 0.54 mm], Staphylococcus aureus [27 +/- 1mm], Serratia marcescens [25.33 +/- 0.58 mm], Aspergillus flavus [25.33 +/- 0.58 mm], Staphylococcus epidermidis [24.33 +/- 0.58 mm], Streptococcus pyogenes [21.67 +/- 1.53 mm], and Aspergillus niger [20.67 +/- 0.53 mm]. Mucus IV of E. foetida also showed the highest antioxidant activity [99. The results clearly indicate that the mucus and solvent extracts contain effective antimicrobial properties and bioactive compounds to inhibit the growth of infectious pathogens. We conclude that mucus extracts of earthworm have significant level of antimicrobial and antioxidant activities and in future could be potentially used against various infectious pathogens

Biological screening of Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb

The bark and fruit extracts of Elaeagnus umbellata have been investigated for their antibacterial, anti-fungal, insecticidal and phytotoxic activities. The petroleum ether extracts of the plant showed significant activity against E. faecalis. The activity of dichloromethane extract was also determined significant against S. aureus. The chloroform extract indicated low activity against E. coli, K. pneumoniae, B. subtilis and S. flexenari. The ethyl acetate fraction demonstrated significant activity against K. pneumoniae while methanolic extract exhibited significant activity against E. coli. All extracts showed low phytotoxic activity. The dichloromethane extract exhibited moderate insecticidal activity while other extract indicated low activity

In vitro assessment of antioxidant, antibacterial and phytochemical analysis of peel of Citrus sinensis

Antibacterial effect of Citrus sinensis peel extracts was evaluated against several pathogenic bacteria associated with human and fish infections viz., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Serratia marcesnces, Shigella flexneri, Enterobacter amnigenus, Salmonella Typhimurium and Serratia odorifera. Methanol, ethanol, chloroform and diethyl ether solvents were used for extraction. In vitro antibacterial activity was analyzed by agar well and agar disc diffusion methods. It was found that ethanol extract showed highly significant inhibition of E. coli and K. pneumonia [12.6 +/- 0.94 mm and 11.6 +/- 1.2 mm] whereas methanol extract of C. sinensis also showed high zone of inhibition of S. odorifera [10.0 +/- 2.16 mm]. The potential activity of active extracts was assessed and also compared with standard antibiotics through activity index formulation. The order of antioxidant activity through ABTS·+ and DPPH free radical scavenging activity was ethanol>methanol>chloroform>diethyl ether. Phytochemical screening of all solvents had determined the presence of terpenoids, alkaloids, steroids, glycosides and flavonoids. It was also found that Chloroform/Methanol [5:5] and Butanol/Ethanol/Water [4:1:2.2] solvent systems showed significant separation of active phytochemical constituents. These findings reveal the potential use of C. sinensis peel to treat infectious diseases, which are being caused by microorganisms

Comparative study of antioxidant, metal chelating and antiglycation activities oiMomordica charantia flesh and pulp fractions

Momordica charantia is commonly used as a vegetable and folk medicine in most parts of South Asia. This study aims to determine and compare the antioxidant, metal chelating and antiglycation activities of aqueous extracts of M. charantia fruit flesh [MCF] and fruit pulp [MCP] fractions. Our results show that MCP has pronounced DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging potential compared to MCF. In the antiglycation assay both fractions illustrated considerable inhibitory activities against the formation of AGEs induced by glucose with an efficacy of 75 and 67% with 150 microl of MCP and MCF extracts respectively, almost equal to 0.3mM amino guanidine. Results for metal catalysed protein fragmentation and autoxidative and glycoxidation assays demonstrate that MCF and MCP inhibited metal catalysed protein fragmentation. The percentage of relative standard deviation for three replicate measurements of 150 microl of MCF and MCP was

Antibacterial screening of traditional herbal plants and standard antibiotics against some human bacterial pathogens

Chloroformic and isoamyl alcohol extracts of Cinnnamomum zylanicum, Cuminum cyminum, Curcuma long Linn, Trachyspermum ammi and selected standard antibiotics were investigated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against six human bacterial pathogens. The antibacterial activity was evaluated and based on the zone of inhibition using agar disc diffusion method. The tested bacterial strains were Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aurues, Serratia marcesnces, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Ciprofloxacin showed highly significant action against K. pneumonia and S. epidermidis while Ampicillin and Amoxicillin indicated lowest antibacterial activity against tested pathogens. Among the plants chloroform and isoamyl alcohol extracts of C. cyminum, S. aromaticum and C. long Linn had significant effect against P. aeruginosa, S. marcesnces and S. pyogenes. Comparison of antibacterial activity of medicinal herbs and standard antibiotics was also recorded via activity index. Used medicinal plants have various phytochemicals which reasonably justify their use as antibacterial agent