ABSTRACT
Addition of 0.3% (w/w) of potassium sorbate (a permitted food additive) coupled with a reduction of pH from 7 to 6 or 5.5, resulted in a dramatic decrease in the survival of two S. aureus strains inoculated (10(8) c.f.u./ml) in laboratory media supplemented with sugar (227 g sugar/100 g water) and incubated at 35 degrees C. These in vitro results may be of potential value to improve the efficacy of sugar therapy for the treatment of certain infected wounds; however, clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Subject(s)
Food Additives/pharmacology , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Sorbic Acid/pharmacology , Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects , Sucrose/pharmacology , Hypertonic Solutions/pharmacology , Osmolar Concentration , Staphylococcus aureus/growth & developmentABSTRACT
Addition of 0.3
(w/w) of potassium sorbate (a permitted food additive) coupled with a reduction of pH from 7 to 6 or 5.5, resulted in a dramatic decrease in the survival of two S. aureus strains inoculated (10(8) c.f.u./ml) in laboratory media supplemented with sugar (227 g sugar/100 g water) and incubated at 35 degrees C. These in vitro results may be of potential value to improve the efficacy of sugar therapy for the treatment of certain infected wounds; however, clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.
ABSTRACT
Addition of 0.3
(w/w) of potassium sorbate (a permitted food additive) coupled with a reduction of pH from 7 to 6 or 5.5, resulted in a dramatic decrease in the survival of two S. aureus strains inoculated (10(8) c.f.u./ml) in laboratory media supplemented with sugar (227 g sugar/100 g water) and incubated at 35 degrees C. These in vitro results may be of potential value to improve the efficacy of sugar therapy for the treatment of certain infected wounds; however, clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.
ABSTRACT
This study reports the extent and character of plasmolysis and other morphological changes as shown by electron microscopy in a strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae and with sucrose or polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400) as the plasmolysing agent at a water activity of 0.935. Both solutes produced severe plasmolysis in K. pneumoniae cells; PEG-400 also caused some cell wall collapse and finger like extrusions to emerge from the bacterial cell.
Subject(s)
Klebsiella pneumoniae/drug effects , Polyethylene Glycols/pharmacology , Sucrose/pharmacology , Bacteriolysis , Klebsiella pneumoniae/ultrastructure , Microscopy, ElectronABSTRACT
It was found that concentrated polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) solutions have significant antibacterial activity against various pathogenic bacteria, including Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. This effect might be attributed to two effects: lowering of water activity and, superimposed on this, the specific action of PEG-400 molecules on bacterial cells. Phase-contrast microscopic observations of cells placed in contact with PEG 400 revealed clumping and morphological changes of bacterial cells. The larger changes in appearance were evidenced by the species which were more rapidly killed by PEG 400. The results obtained suggested that concentrated PEG 400 solutions may have a potential value in medicine as a topical antibacterial agent. The feasibility of this application is the subject of present investigation.
Subject(s)
Anti-Infective Agents, Local , Bacteria/drug effects , Polyethylene Glycols/pharmacology , Bacteria/cytology , Colony-Forming Units Assay , Culture Media , Microbial Sensitivity TestsABSTRACT
The use of sugar for the treatment of infected wounds was investigated in in vitro experiments with bacteria pathogenic to humans, such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus. Studies showed that solutions of appropriate sugar concentration incubated at pH 7.0 and 35 degrees C were lethal to the bacterial species studied. On the basis of these results, it is proposed that an important function of sugar in the treatment of infected wounds is to create an environment of low water activity (aw), which inhibits or stresses bacterial growth.
