In vitro biofilm formation by uropathogenic Escherichia coli and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern

Objective:To detect in vitro biofilm formation of uropathogenic Escherichia coli(E.coli)(UPEC) strains isolated from urine specimens and also to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern using 13 commonly used antibiotics.Methods:The present study comprised of 166 urine specimens collected from tertiary care hospitals in and around Coimbatore.South India. All the specimens were subjected to gram staining,bacterial culture and the E.coli strains were screened for biofilm formation using Tube Method(TM),Congo Red Agar(CRA) and Tissue Culture Plate method(TCP) respectively.Subsequently,the antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed by Kirby Bauer-disk diffusion method for the biofilm and non-biofilm producing E. coli strains.Results:Of the 100(60.2%) E.coli strains,72 strains displayed a biofilm positive phenotype under the optimized conditions in the Tube Method and the strains were classified as highly positive(17,23.6%),moderate positive(19.26.3%) and weakly positive(36.50.0%). similarly under the optimized conditions on Congo Red agar medium,biofilm positive phenotype strains were classified as highly positive(23,23%).moderate positive(37.37%) and weakly positive(40,40%).While in TCP method,the biofilm positive phenotype strains were also classified as highly positive(6.6%),moderate positive(80.80%) and weakly positive(14,14%),it didn’t not correlate well with the tube method for detecting biofilm formation in E.coli.The rates of antibiotic resistance of biofilm producing E.coli were found to be 100%for chloramphenicol and amoxyclav(amoxicillin and clavulanic acid),86%for gentamicin and cefotaxime.84%for ceftazidime,83%for cotrimoxazole and piperacillin/tazobactam,75%for tetracycline and 70% for amikacin,Conclusions:This study reveals the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of biofilm and non-biofilm producing uropathogenic E.coli strains.

Anti-inflammatory activity of Alpinia officinarum hance on rat colon inflammation and tissue damage in DSS induced acute and chronic colitis models

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible prophylactic effects of Alpinia officinarum hance on experimentally induced acute and chronic colitis models,in-vivo and in-vitro.Acute and chronic colitis were induced in Male Wistar rats by administration of Dextran Sulfate Sodium(DSS)in drinking water.DSS induction exhibited colon shrinkage,increased the Disease Activity Index(DAI)score,increased the levels of inflammatory markers and caused severe anemia.DSS induced animals,co-treated with the hexane extract of Alpinia officinarum(HEAO)(200 mg/kg body wt),effectively suppressed colonic injury that was evidenced by the reduced DAI score,colon weight/length ratio,histological damage,proinflammatory markers and MPO activity.Further,it restored the colonic antioxidants near to normal levels by regulating the oxidative stress via attenuation of lipid peroxidation.Our results revealed that the degree of colitis caused by the administration of DSS was significantly attenuated by HEAO.In addition,the in-vitro study showed that HEAO treatment inhibited the proliferation of HT-29 cells and down regulated the mRNA expression of NF-B and COX-2.Taken together,these results suggest that HEAO is a promising anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that support its possible therapeutic role in the treatment of colitis.