EVALUATION OF THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF THE AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF POMEGRANATE PEEL AGAINST THE BACTERIA ACINETOBACTER BAUMANNII ISOLATED FROM IMAM AL-SADIQ HOSPITAL IN BABYLON GOVERNORATE
Keywords:
Acinetobacter baumannii, antibiotic resistance, pomegranate peels, blaOXA-51Abstract
Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most prominent causes of opportunistic infections associated with healthcare, and has gained wide resistance to antimicrobials, making it a global threat. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of Punica Granatum as an alternative natural antibiotic against the Acinetobacter baumannii, highly antibiotic-resistant and isolated patients at Imam Al-Sadiq Hospital.
Methods of action: 40 clinical samples (blood, urine, sputum, and swabs of intensive care) were collected from the hospital. The blaoxa-51 gene use as a species-specific marker. Antibiotic resistance testing was performed with 5 antibiotics (Imipenem, Merobenim, Ceftazidem, Ciprofloxacin, and Gentamicin) according to the CLSI 2026 Standards. Pomegranate and Evaluation Efficacy of Minimum Inhibiting (MIC) against super-resistance isolates.
Results: Of the 40 samples, 33 samples (82.5%) showed positive growth for A. baumannii. 9 samples (27.3% of the positive samples) showed a pattern of multiple resistance (MDR), which included all five tested antibiotics, especially carbapenems (Imipenem and Meropenem). The aqueous extract of the pomegranate peels showed clear effectiveness, with MIC ranged between 2.5-10 mg/ml, confirming its ability to inhibit these resistant strains.
Conclusion: The aqueous extract of pomegranate peels has showed effective as a natural antibiotic against A. baumannii, which is resistant to multiple drugs, which opens the way for it to be used as an adjuvant therapy or as a preservative in hospitals after further studies on its mechanisms of action and toxic effects.
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