The Antibacterial and Wound Healing Properties of Natural Products: A Review on Plant Species with Therapeutic Potential against Staphylococcus aureus Wound Infections.

Wounds of an acute or chronic etiology affect millions of people worldwide, with increasing prevalence every year. Microbial infections are one of the main causes that impair the wound healing process, and Staphylococcus aureus, a commensal member of the skin microbiota, is one of the main causative agents of wound infections. Crucially, a high proportion of these infections are caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which, in addition to ß-lactams, has acquired resistance to almost all the antibacterial agents used to treat it, limiting therapeutic options. Studies on the antimicrobial and healing activities of extracts, essential oils, or metabolites obtained from native plants have been reported in many countries that have a diverse flora and traditions with the use of medicinal plants for the treatment of wound infections. Due to their great chemical diversity, plants have proven to be promising sources of bioactive molecules for the discovery and development of new drugs or strategies for the treatment of wounds. This review highlights the main herbal preparations that have antimicrobial and healing activities with potential for the treatment of wound infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus.

Synergistic Antifungal Interaction between Pseudomonas aeruginosa LV Strain Metabolites and Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles against Candida auris.

Candida auris has been found to be a persistent colonizer of human skin and a successful pathogen capable of causing potentially fatal infection, especially in immunocompromised individuals. This fungal species is usually resistant to most antifungal agents and has the ability to form biofilms on different surfaces, representing a significant therapeutic challenge. Herein, the effect of metabolites of Pseudomonas aeruginosa LV strain, alone and combined with biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles (bioAgNP), was evaluated in planktonic and sessile (biofilm) cells of C. auris. First, the minimal inhibitory and fungicidal concentration values of 3.12 and 6.25 µg/mL, respectively, were determined for F4a, a semi-purified bacterial fraction. Fluopsin C and indolin-3-one seem to be the active components of F4a. Like the semi-purified fraction, they showed a time- and dose-dependent fungicidal activity. F4a and bioAgNP caused severe changes in the morphology and ultrastructure of fungal cells. F4a and indolin-3-one combined with bioAgNP exhibited synergistic fungicidal activity against planktonic cells. F4a, alone or combined with bioAgNP, also caused a significant decrease in the number of viable cells within the biofilms. No cytotoxicity to mammalian cells was detected for bacterial metabolites combined with bioAgNP at synergistic concentrations that presented antifungal activity. These results indicate the potential of F4a combined with bioAgNP as a new strategy for controlling C. auris infections.

Main aspects and prophylactic measures of COVID-19 in Brazil / Principais aspectos e medidas profiláticas da COVID-19 no Brasil

From the first case of COVID-19 in Brazil, the country became the third in the world in the raking of cases and deaths. Despite the measures implemented by the government, the number of infected and killed by COVID-19 continues to increase and the country faces several other problems that include social and political aspects, making it difficult to contain the pandemic. The present study addressed the general characteristics of SARS-CoV-2, pointed out the main socio-epidemiological aspects in Brazil and the treatment of COVID 19. A literature review was carried out to search for articles in PubMed, Scielo and Google Scholar databases. Patients with COVID-19 may be asymptomatic, but among symptomatic patients, the severity of the disease is related to age and pre-existing medical conditions. The lungs are the organs most affected by the virus and, for this reason, respiratory manifestations such as cough, shortness of breath, sputum production, sore throat and nasal congestion are the symptoms most associated with COVID-19. The transmission of SARSCoV-2 between humans occurs mainly through respiratory droplets, but they can also occur through contact with contaminated surfaces. Vaccine tests were carried out approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). Brazil stands out in second world position, with four approved vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, CoronaVac (Sinovac), Janssen/Covishield.

A partir do primeiro caso de COVID-19 no Brasil, o país se tornou o terceiro no mundo em números de casos e de óbitos. Apesar das medidas implantadas pelo governo, o número de infectados e de óbitos por COVID-19 continua aumentando e o país enfrenta vários outros problemas que inclui aspectos sociais e políticos, dificultando as medidas de contenção da pandemia. O presente estudo visou abordar as características gerais do SARS-Cov-2, bem como apontar os principais aspectos socioepidemiológico no Brasil, e tratamento da COVID 19. Foi realizada uma revisão de literatura para busca de artigos em Bases de dados PubMed, Scielo e Google Scholar até 06 de outubro de 2020. Os pacientes com COVID-19 podem ser assintomáticos, porém entre os sintomáticos a gravidade da doença está relacionada à idade e a condições médicas pré-existentes. Os pulmões são os órgãos mais afetados pelo vírus e por isso as manifestações respiratórias como tosse, falta de ar, produção de escarro, dor de garganta e congestão nasal são os sintomas mais associados à COVID-19 A transmissão do SARS-COV-2 entre os humanos ocorre principalmente por meio de gotículas respiratórias, mas também podem ocorrer por meio do contato com superfícies contaminadas. Testes de vacinas foram realizados aprovados pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS). O Brasil se destaca em segunda posição mundial, com cinco vacinas aprovadas, Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, /CoronaVac (Sinovac), Janssen/Covishield.