Wound Healing: Contributions from Medicinal Plants and Their Phytoconstituents

Wound is an inescapable condition in one’s lifetime that may arise due to physical injuries that can result in an opening or break of skin or chemical means. Wounds represent a significant burden on patients and can affect the physical and mental health of millions of patients thereby imposing a significant cost on them. Wounds are major cause of physical disabilities. The wound area is an ideal medium for the manipulation of many infecting organisms. The injured skin, therefore, remains vulnerable to invasive microbial infections. The primary objective of wound care, therefore, is to prevent or minimize infection and promote healing. Various materials and methods, especially antibacterial drugs are employed. Some of these wound care methods employed include the topical antimicrobial therapy of plant extracts. The present article, therefore, focuses on the review of the role medicinal plants play in wound healing with special attention on plants that have demonstrated both wound healing and antioxidant properties. Further attention was given to isolated compounds from wound healing plants that exhibited wound healing properties.

A study of risk factors for catheter associated urinary tract infection

Background: Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are the most common causes of UTIs in postoperative cases. Many risk factors are associated with its incidence. The present study was conducted with the aim to determine the related risk factors and to identify the causative agents contributing to the urinary tract infection.Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 210 patients meeting the requirements of inclusion criteria during September 2012 to February 2014. Detailed history of the patients was recorded. Urine culture was done at different time intervals to identify the causative agent suggestive to CAUTI. Univariate analyses of the association of each variable with CAUTI and multivariable logistic regression were done to predict CAUTI outcome.Results: The mean age of study participants was 51.61 years. Among them 141 were males and 69 were female patients. On univariate analysis purpose for urine catheterization, place of catheterization, breach in the closed system of drainage, duration of catheterization, hemoglobin value less than 10, raised renal parameters with serum creatinine more than 1.5 were all significantly associated with development of CAUTI (p value 0.000). Sex of the patient (p value 0.279) and catheter size (p value 0.279) was not found to have a significant correlation with increased risk of CAUTI. On multivariate analysis, age, catheter size, diabetes, duration of catheterization, a breach in the closed system of catheter drainage and sex were found to be the significant risk factors associated with CAUTI (p<0.05).Conclusion: An understanding of the risk factors in development of CAUTI, significantly helps in reducing the additional burden on the health care system. Measures such as shortening the duration of catheterization, strict control of diabetes and sterile precautions in insertion and maintenance of indwelling catheters can help in prevention CAUTI.

Antimicrobial activity of compounds from Acanthospermum hispidum DC and Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) ROXB: Beninese plants used by healers against HIV-associated microbial infections.

In this study, we have tested alcoholic extracts (60%) from four Beninese plants: Ocimum gratissimum L., Acanthospermum hispidum DC, Caesalpinia bonduc (L) Roxb and Calotropis procera W. T. Aiton. They are used by the healers to prevent opportunistic diseases associated to HIV-AIDS; on six strains such as: Escherichia coli O 157H7, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 which resist to methicillin (MRSA), Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida albicans ATCC 10231, and Mycobacterium bovis BCG 040812 which cause microbial infections associated with HIV-AIDS. The results show that all the extracts are bacteriostatic and fungistatic but only the hydro-ethanolic extracts of Acanthospermum hispidum (HE2) and of Caesalpinia bonduc (HE3) presented antibiotic power (respectively ap = 2 and ap = 4) on Candida albicans ATCC 10231. The Mycobacterium bovis BCG shown resistance to tested extracts (CMI > 250 μg/mL). The two fungicidal extracts HE2 and HE3 did not show harmful effects on the cells WI–38 with an IC50 > 100 μg/mL for HE2 and IC50 = 50 μg/mL for HE3. The successive bio-guided purifications of extracts HE2 and HE3 permitted isolation of three antibacterial compounds: Flavanone (M1); stigmasterol (M2); and quercetin (M3). The three isolated compounds possess antibiotic power (ap 3±1) on tested strains and are not toxic on shrimp larvae (LC50: 0.30 ± 0.17 mg/mL).

Ontogenia da resposta imune de mucosas e colonização por micro-organismos orais / Ontogeny of mucosal immune response and colonization by oral microorganisms

O objetivo desta revisão é fornecer informações sobre o desenvolvimento da resposta imune de mucosas, em especial da IgA secretora (IgAS) nas salivas de crianças (pré-termo ou a termo) e sua ação frente aos micro-organismos orais. A análise do sistema imune de mucosas representa um caminho interessante para o entendimento da colonização microbiana nos primeiros meses de vida, em especial a resposta de IgAS presente na saliva, pois esta representa a primeira linha de defesa. A maioria dos estudos sobre a resposta imune específica a micro-organismos orais residentes envolve o Streptococcus mutans, que é o principal agente etiológico da cárie dentária e vem contribuindo para melhor conhecimento e prevenção desta doença que ainda representa um enorme desafio por seu caráter multifatorial e tratamento difícil. Assim, o entendimento precoce dos inúmeros fatores que podem influenciar o desenvolvimento imunológico de mucosa e o padrão de resposta à diversidade microbiana adquirida após o nascimento podem fornecer importantes informações para a elaboração de estratégias de controle de infecção.

Interleukin-15: its role in microbial infections

Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a pleiotropic cytokine which regulates the proliferation, survival and the secretory activities of many distinct cell types in the body. This cytokine is produced by macrophages and many other cell types in response to infectious agents; it controls growth and differentiation of T and B lymphocytes, activation of Natural Killer (NK) and phagocytic cells, and contributes to the homeostasis of the immune system. The present review focuses on the biological and modulatory effects of IL-15 in microbial infections and shows that this cytokine may play a role in the host defense against infections by inducing activation of effector cells from both innate and adaptive immune system.(AU)

Bacteriologic Study of Ocular Isolates from Infectious External Eye Diseases

We performed this study to evaluate the spectrum of etiologic microorganisms and antibiotic sensitivity of current microorganisms in external eye diseases. From 1992 to 1996, 967 specimens were obtained in cases of suspected microbial infection of external eye disease. Antibiotic sensitivity test was done by disk diffusion method. Among 967 specimens, 339(35%) were culture positive. Of the positive cultures, Gram positive organisms were cultured in 222(65.5%)specimens, Gram negative organisms in 101(29.8%) and fungi in 12(3.5%). In Gram positive bacteria, coagulase negative staphylococcus was the most commonly isolated organism(51.7%). In Gram negative organisms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was predominant(47.4%). The antibiotic resistant rate of S. aureus(54 strains) was 96% to penicillin, 69% to genatamicin, and 5 strains(9%) showed resistance to ciprofloxacin. Coagulase negative staphylococcus(89 strains) showed high resistance to penicillin(91%), gentamicin(64%), and ciprofloxacin(13%). P. aeruginosa(36 strains) represented 11% of resistance to gentamicin and 1 strain showed resistance to ciprofloxacin. From these results the common patholoic organisms showed high resistance rate to clinically used antibiotics, even to fluoroquinolones. Thus, careful use of topical antibiotics, even to fluoroquinolones. Thus, careful use of topical antibiotics according to principles of antibiotic therapy is required.