<span style="font-family:'';font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Pathogenic spore-forming bacteria pose high risks to healthcare settings, as well ...<span style="font-family:'';font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Pathogenic spore-forming bacteria pose high risks to healthcare settings, as well as in the food and beverage industries. We reported recently that novel alcohol-based formulations containing plant-derived compounds, including epigallocatechin-3-gallate-palmitate (EGCG-P), a green tea polyphenol ester, provide > 99.99% inactivation of bacterial spores within 60 sec. Based on recently published data from our group and others, we hypothesize that a combination of EGCG-P and alcohol formulated with other plant-derived ingredients would achieve high sporicidal efficacy against a wide spectrum of bacterial spores and can provide novel hand hygiene methods against bacterial spores without toxicity. The objectives of the current study were to optimize </span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">two novel formulations with combinations of glycerol, citric acid, and EGCG-P</span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> to increase sporicidal activity and explore the rapid inactivation mechanisms and suitability for sporicidal products with broad-spectrum activities against aerobic and anaerobic bacterial spores. Methods included suspension testing of two formulations against spores from </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Bacillus cereus</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> and </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Clostridium sporogenes</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">, quantification of spore germination, and scanning electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that these novel formulations were able to reduce spore germination by >99.999% after 30 sec exposure in </span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">suspension tests, and rapidly caused physical damage to the spores. Additional</span></span><span style="font-family:'';font-size:10pt;"> </span><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;">studies</span><span style="font-family:'';font-size:10pt;"> </span><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;">are </span><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;">warranted to determine the suitability of the novel formulations for future hand hygiene use.展开更多
Microbial pathogens and indicators have contributed to major part of water quality degradation in the United States. Located in the northwestern New Jersey, the Musconetcong River has been included in the New Jersey I...Microbial pathogens and indicators have contributed to major part of water quality degradation in the United States. Located in the northwestern New Jersey, the Musconetcong River has been included in the New Jersey Impaired Waters List or the 303(d) List due to high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria. Hence, a Total Maximum Daily Load plan was established to address microbial water quality issues in the watershed. The objectives of this study were to assess the current status of microbial water quality and to determine potential sources of fecal contamination in the Musconetcong River Watershed using microbial source tracking techniques. Fifteen sampling events in total were carried out at nine sites throughout the Musconetcong River Watershed in August 2016, July and August 2017. E. coli enumeration was performed to determine the possible presence of fecal contaminations. Microbial source tracking techniques, specifically Canada goose, cow, deer, horse, and human-specific molecular markers, were used for real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis in order to identify and quantify potential sources of fecal contamination. The results indicated that E. coli was found present at all nine study sites. Two of the nine sites violated the New Jersey Surface Water Quality Standards in August 2016, while all of the nine sites exceeded the standards in both July and August 2017. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and specific conductance at the study sites ranged from 13.5?C to 25.3?C, from 7.7 mg/L to 13.0 mg/L, and 278.5 μS/cm to 1335.0 μS/cm, respectively, at the time of sample collection. E. coli counts were found to be negatively correlated with temperature and specific conductance (p p < 0.05). Higher percentage of presence of human, Canada goose and deer markers were observed at all fifteen sampling events indicating human and wildlife were the two major sources of fecal contaminations in the Musconetcong River Watershed. The study suggested applying restoration measures to reduce fecal contaminations from anthropogenic and wildlife sources in order to improve microbial water quality of the Musconetcong River. However, more frequent and strategic sampling plan is recommended to supply more comprehensive data to aid in future planning of best management efforts on controlling fecal contaminations.展开更多
Introduction: The rise in antibiotic resistant cases has caused a global concern. Researchers around the world are trying to find a novel alternative to combat this issue. Green tea with its many health benefits, incl...Introduction: The rise in antibiotic resistant cases has caused a global concern. Researchers around the world are trying to find a novel alternative to combat this issue. Green tea with its many health benefits, including antibacterial and antiviral activity, has shown to be one of the most promising candidates to be used as an agent to solve this problem. Objective: This study focuses on evaluating the synergistic effects of antibiotics and two green tea polyphenols: epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and its modified lipophilic form epigallocatechin gallate stearate (EGCG-S). Methods: In this study, twelve antibiotics and eight bacteria: Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) and Bacillus megaterium (B. megaterium);Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens), and Enterobacter aerogenes (E. aerogenes);and acid-fast Mycobacterium smegmatis (M. smegmatis) were used. Antibacterial synergism profiling of EGCG, EGCG-S and antibiotics has been established using a disk diffusion assay. Results: The results revealed that both 1% of EGCG and 1% EGCG-S enhanced the antimicrobial activities on antibiotics in various bacteria. Antimicrobial susceptibility study indicated that EGCG-S was able to enhance some antibiotics from the resistant category to intermediate or susceptible and/or from intermediate category to susceptible. Both EGCG and EGCG-S worked comparably on Gram-positive bacteria;in S. aureus, both compounds enhanced 5 antibiotics (AM10, CF30, C30, S10 and TE30) activities while EGCG-S had higher efficiency. B. megaterium were susceptible to most of the antibiotic treatment, thus the impact of EGCG and EGCG-S was insignificant. EGCG-S worked better than EGCG on Gram-negative bacteria;converted 9 antibiotics susceptibility in E. coli and P. aeruginosa, and 8 antibiotics in E. aerogenes. EGCG and EGCG-S also showed synergism on acid-fast bacteria M. smegmatis with EGCG-S has much higher efficiency than EGCG. Conclusion: The results suggested that EGCG-S might be a promising antibacterial synergistic agent with antibiotics to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.展开更多
文摘<span style="font-family:'';font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Pathogenic spore-forming bacteria pose high risks to healthcare settings, as well as in the food and beverage industries. We reported recently that novel alcohol-based formulations containing plant-derived compounds, including epigallocatechin-3-gallate-palmitate (EGCG-P), a green tea polyphenol ester, provide > 99.99% inactivation of bacterial spores within 60 sec. Based on recently published data from our group and others, we hypothesize that a combination of EGCG-P and alcohol formulated with other plant-derived ingredients would achieve high sporicidal efficacy against a wide spectrum of bacterial spores and can provide novel hand hygiene methods against bacterial spores without toxicity. The objectives of the current study were to optimize </span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">two novel formulations with combinations of glycerol, citric acid, and EGCG-P</span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> to increase sporicidal activity and explore the rapid inactivation mechanisms and suitability for sporicidal products with broad-spectrum activities against aerobic and anaerobic bacterial spores. Methods included suspension testing of two formulations against spores from </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Bacillus cereus</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;"> and </span><i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">Clostridium sporogenes</span></i><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">, quantification of spore germination, and scanning electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that these novel formulations were able to reduce spore germination by >99.999% after 30 sec exposure in </span><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;">suspension tests, and rapidly caused physical damage to the spores. Additional</span></span><span style="font-family:'';font-size:10pt;"> </span><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;">studies</span><span style="font-family:'';font-size:10pt;"> </span><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;">are </span><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;">warranted to determine the suitability of the novel formulations for future hand hygiene use.
文摘Microbial pathogens and indicators have contributed to major part of water quality degradation in the United States. Located in the northwestern New Jersey, the Musconetcong River has been included in the New Jersey Impaired Waters List or the 303(d) List due to high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria. Hence, a Total Maximum Daily Load plan was established to address microbial water quality issues in the watershed. The objectives of this study were to assess the current status of microbial water quality and to determine potential sources of fecal contamination in the Musconetcong River Watershed using microbial source tracking techniques. Fifteen sampling events in total were carried out at nine sites throughout the Musconetcong River Watershed in August 2016, July and August 2017. E. coli enumeration was performed to determine the possible presence of fecal contaminations. Microbial source tracking techniques, specifically Canada goose, cow, deer, horse, and human-specific molecular markers, were used for real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis in order to identify and quantify potential sources of fecal contamination. The results indicated that E. coli was found present at all nine study sites. Two of the nine sites violated the New Jersey Surface Water Quality Standards in August 2016, while all of the nine sites exceeded the standards in both July and August 2017. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and specific conductance at the study sites ranged from 13.5?C to 25.3?C, from 7.7 mg/L to 13.0 mg/L, and 278.5 μS/cm to 1335.0 μS/cm, respectively, at the time of sample collection. E. coli counts were found to be negatively correlated with temperature and specific conductance (p p < 0.05). Higher percentage of presence of human, Canada goose and deer markers were observed at all fifteen sampling events indicating human and wildlife were the two major sources of fecal contaminations in the Musconetcong River Watershed. The study suggested applying restoration measures to reduce fecal contaminations from anthropogenic and wildlife sources in order to improve microbial water quality of the Musconetcong River. However, more frequent and strategic sampling plan is recommended to supply more comprehensive data to aid in future planning of best management efforts on controlling fecal contaminations.
文摘Introduction: The rise in antibiotic resistant cases has caused a global concern. Researchers around the world are trying to find a novel alternative to combat this issue. Green tea with its many health benefits, including antibacterial and antiviral activity, has shown to be one of the most promising candidates to be used as an agent to solve this problem. Objective: This study focuses on evaluating the synergistic effects of antibiotics and two green tea polyphenols: epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and its modified lipophilic form epigallocatechin gallate stearate (EGCG-S). Methods: In this study, twelve antibiotics and eight bacteria: Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) and Bacillus megaterium (B. megaterium);Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens), and Enterobacter aerogenes (E. aerogenes);and acid-fast Mycobacterium smegmatis (M. smegmatis) were used. Antibacterial synergism profiling of EGCG, EGCG-S and antibiotics has been established using a disk diffusion assay. Results: The results revealed that both 1% of EGCG and 1% EGCG-S enhanced the antimicrobial activities on antibiotics in various bacteria. Antimicrobial susceptibility study indicated that EGCG-S was able to enhance some antibiotics from the resistant category to intermediate or susceptible and/or from intermediate category to susceptible. Both EGCG and EGCG-S worked comparably on Gram-positive bacteria;in S. aureus, both compounds enhanced 5 antibiotics (AM10, CF30, C30, S10 and TE30) activities while EGCG-S had higher efficiency. B. megaterium were susceptible to most of the antibiotic treatment, thus the impact of EGCG and EGCG-S was insignificant. EGCG-S worked better than EGCG on Gram-negative bacteria;converted 9 antibiotics susceptibility in E. coli and P. aeruginosa, and 8 antibiotics in E. aerogenes. EGCG and EGCG-S also showed synergism on acid-fast bacteria M. smegmatis with EGCG-S has much higher efficiency than EGCG. Conclusion: The results suggested that EGCG-S might be a promising antibacterial synergistic agent with antibiotics to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
