COMBATING THE ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE THREAT
Keywords:
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), Acinetobacter baumanni, Klebsiellapneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Manuka, Methylglyoxal, Wintergreen, Cinnamon, Aloe Vera, Antibiotic resistanceAbstract
Objective: Bacteria have developed ability to resist antibiotics that previously served as effective treatment. There is an increasing concern by health care providers to address this problem in healthcare settings especially in underdeveloped countries where access to the latest antibiotics is limited. These antibiotic resistant pathogens, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, usually found in health care facilities, can cause severe to fatal infections. Our research focused on five of the most problematic bacteria: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Methods: For centuries home treatments have relied on the use of essential oils to treat ailments. We tested four commonly found essential oils (wintergreen, cinnamon, tea tree, and spearmint) against the five bacteria as well as methylglyoxal, which is an ingredient in Manuka honey. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used and diameter of the zone of inhibition for each bacterium was measured to compare with standard antibiotics used for each strain of bacteria. In addition to studying the antibacterial activity of these compounds, we also investigated a way to deliver these compounds to patients, as topical applications, to inhibit the transmission of these multidrug resistant bacteria in healthcare settings.
Results: Wintergreen and cinnamon essential oils as well as methylglyoxal showed high inhibitory effect on the tested bacteria. We also tested and found that Aloe Vera oil, Aloe Vera gel and natural Aloe Vera served as effective carriers with the essential oils and methylglyoxal.
Conclusion: The antibacterial activity found in wintergreen and cinnamon essential oils and in methylglyoxal may offer a cost-effective alternative to commercial antibiotics because these compounds are readily available and relatively inexpensive and would be a benefit to people globally.
Â
Downloads
References
Rios JL, Recio MC. Medicinal plants and antimicrobial activity. J Ethnopharmacol 2005;100(1-2):80-4.
Blair SE, Cokcetin NN, Harry EJ, Carter DA. The unusual antibacterial activity of medical-grade Leptospermum honey: antibacterial spectrum, resistance and transcriptome analysis. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2009;28:1199–208.
Cooper RA, Halas E, Molan PC. The efficacy of honey in inhibiting strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from infected burns. J Burn Care Rehabil 2002;23:366–70.
French VM, Cooper RA, Molan PC. The antibacterial activity of honey against coagulase-negative staphylococci. J Antimicrob Chemother 2005;56:228–31.
Sharma, P, MackJP, Rojtman A. Ten highly effective essential oils inhibit growth of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin sensitive staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 2013;5(1):52-4.
Zaheer Z, Khan SW, Patel KA, Konale AG, Lokre SS. Antimicrobial activity of essential oil of flowers of plumeria alba linn (apocynaceae). Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 2010;2(4):155-7.
Mishra N, Behal KK. Antimicrobial activity of some spices against selected microbes. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 2010;2(3):187-96.
Manjamalai A, Alexander T, Grace VM. Bioactive evaluation of the essential oil of plectranthus amboinicus by GC-MS analysis and its role as a drug for microbial infections and inflammation. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 2012;4(3):205-11.
Martinez JL, Baquero F. Interactions among strategies associated with bacterial infection: pathogenicity, epidemicity, and antibiotic resistance. Clin Microbiol Rev 2002;15:647–79.
Ugar A, Varol O, Ceylan O. Antibacterial activity of sideritis curvidens and sideritis lanata from Turkey. Pharm Biol 2005;43(1):47-52.
Fernando AMR, McQueen S, Sharland M. Coping with MRSA. Curr Paediatr 2005;15(5);437-42.
Weber DJ, Sickbert-Bennett EE, Brown V, Rutula WA. Completeness of surveillance data reported by the National Healthcare Safety Network: an analysis of healthcare-associated infections ascertained in a tertiary care hospital, 2010. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012;33(1):94-6.
Rahall JJ. Antimicrobial resistance among and therapeutic options against gram-negative pathogens. Clin Infect Dis 2009;49 Suppl 1:S4–S10.
Trouille JL, Vuagnat A, Combes A, Kassit N, Chaste J, Guibert C. Pseudomonas aeruginosa ventilator-associated pneumonia: comparison of episodes due to Piperacillin-resistant versus Piperacillin-susceptible organisms. Clin Infect Dis 2002;34(8):1047-54.
Borer A, Sailed-Odes L, Rosenberg K. Attributable mortality rate for Carbapenems-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteremia. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2009;30(10):972-6.
Mariachis LL, Perl TM. Acinetobacter baumannii: epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance, and treatment options. Clin Infect Dis 2008;46:1254–63.
Klevens. Invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States. JAMA 2007; 298(15):1763-71.
Atrott J, Henle T. Methylglyoxal in manuka honey-correlation with antibacterial properties. Czech J Food Sci 2009;27:S163.
French VM, Cooper RA, Molan PC. The antibacterial activity of honey against coagulase-negative staphylococci. J Antimicrob Chemother 2005;56:228-31.
Mandal MD, Mandal S. Honey: its medicinal property and antibacterial activity. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 2011;1(2):154–60.
Henriques A, Jackson S, Cooper R, Burton N. Free radical production and quenching in honeys with wound healing potential. J Antimicrob Chemother 2006;58:773-7.
Irish J, Blair S, Carter DA. The antimicrobial activity of honey derived from Australian flora. PLoS One 2011;6:e18229.