IIT-Kharagpur Trio Used Curd To Make Low-Cost Gel That Enhances Wound Healing!

Usually small cuts, bruises or wounds are harmless as the body has a system for repairing them. Often, antibiotic ointment is applied over them to prevent the growth of infection-causing microbes and to promote speedy healing. However, with the increasing presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment, there is a danger that the ointments might not be able to stop the infections and a minor bruise could turn out to be a major health issue.

To address this concern, a team of scientists from IIT-Kharagpur has synthesized a low-cost gel from curd which not only retards the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria but also enhances wound healing.

“From ancient times, curd has been used for skin and hair care. Drainage water from curd, which is usually discarded, contains a good amount of bioactive peptides which we have utilized for this therapeutic application,” says one of the researchers.

For their study, scientists made curd by inoculating three strains of bacteria – Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus casei, and Bifidobacterium bifidum, which they obtained from National Collection of Dairy Cultures. They then collected the drainage water from the curd and purified it for bioactive peptides. They added ten micrograms of the peptide to 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid and zinc nitrate to form a hydrogel. Scientists tested the efficacy of the hydrogel against two antibiotic-resistant strains. One of Staphylococcus aureus and another of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The hydrogel killed both the strains. Pseudomonas, however, required a higher dose of hydrogel/peptide than Staphylococcus.

Often, a group of bacteria reside in a colony by synthesizing mucilage around them called bio-film. These bio-films protect the bacteria from antibiotics. Biofilm formation is dependent on the ability of bacteria to move. Scientists found that hydrogel retarded movement of the bacteria and thus prevented bio-film formation.

To evaluate the wound healing activity of hydrogel, scientist used laboratory-grown skin cell lines. Scientists scratched the surface containing the skin cells and applied hydrogel over there. After 24 hours, cells were observed at the scratched surface. This confirmed that hydrogel can enhance the proliferation capacity of damaged cells and therefore has property of wound healing also.

“The cost of the hydrogel is very low and it is easy to prepare without the need of any harsh chemicals. It, therefore, has the potential to be used for therapeutic application in wound healing. We intend to test this hydrogel on small animals,” added the Dr.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                      FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                    

                                https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com

 

Cranberries may help combat superbugs

Cranberry extracts can make disease-causing bacteria more sensitive to lower doses of antibiotics that may help counter the global threat of superbugs, according to a study.

The spread of antibiotic resistance worldwide is undermining decades of progress in fighting bacterial infections.

Due to the overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, we're on the cusp of returning to a pre-antibiotic era in which minor infections can once again become deadly.

Countering the fall in antibiotic efficacy by improving the effectiveness of currently available antibiotics is a crucial goal, according to researchers.

Cranberries are highly sought after for their tangy taste and the antioxidants they contain.

The study provides evidence that they could also help in the fight against bacteria.

When treated with molecules derived from cranberries, pathogenic bacteria becomes more sensitive to lower doses of antibiotics and prevent resistance to the antibiotics.

Given the popular belief that drinking cranberry juice is helpful against urinary tract infections, the researchers sought to find out more about the berry's molecular properties by treating various bacteria with a cranberry extract.

The bacteria selected for the study were those responsible for UTI, pneumonia and gastroenteritis ( Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli).

Normally when we treat bacteria with an antibiotic in the lab, the bacteria eventually acquire resistance over time, said the lead author.

But, when we simultaneously treated the bacteria with an antibiotic and the cranberry extract, no resistance developed. We were very surprised by this, and we see it as an important opportunity, said the author.

Analyses showed that the cranberry extract increases bacterial sensitivity to antibiotics by acting in 2 ways.

First, it makes the bacterial cell wall more permeable to the antibiotic and 2nd, it interferes with the mechanism used by the bacteria to pump out the antibiotic.

Consequently, the antibiotic penetrates more easily, and the bacteria have a harder time getting rid of it, which explains why the drug is effective at lower doses.

The activity is generated by molecules called proanthocyanidins. There are several different kinds of proanthocyanidins, and they may work together to deliver this outcome. We'll need to do more research to determine which ones are most active in synergy with the antibiotic, said a Prof.

After confirming the activity of the cranberry molecules on bacterial culture, the researchers tested to determine whether the pattern persisted in a preliminary animal model-infected insects.

Since the synergistic effect of the extract and the antibiotic was also observed in the insects, further experiments will be conducted to clearly identify the active molecules.

If the results are confirmed in animals, certain classes of antibiotics to high levels of resistance could be made useful again by using cranberry extract to boost their potential.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/    

                                                                                                                                                     FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/  

                            FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                  https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com

Cranberry extracts can make disease-causing bacteria more sensitive to lower doses of antibiotics that may help counter the global threat of superbugs, according to a study.

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/cranberries-may-help-combat-superbugs-study-736869.html

Why patients need to be advised about washing hands

A new study suggests that hospitals need to disseminate the idea of washing hands, to their patients too, apart from their staff. 

The study gathered data from 399 hospitals, in which it was revealed that fourteen per cent of the hospital patients had 'superbug' antibiotic-resistant bacteria on their hands or their nostrils.

Another six per cent of the patients who didn't have multi-drug resistant organisms, or MDROs, on their hands at the start of their hospitalization tested positive for them on their hands later in their stay. One-fifth of the objects tested in their rooms had similar superbugs on them too.

However, researchers cautioned that the presence of MDROs didn't necessarily mean that patients would fall sick.

"Hand hygiene narrative has largely focused on physicians, nurses and other frontline staff, and all the policies and performance measurements have centred on them, and rightfully so," said the leader of the research.

The author notes that the study suggests that many of the MDROs seen on patients are also seen in their rooms early in their stay, suggesting that transmission to room surfaces is rapid.

She added, "But our findings make an argument for addressing transmission of MDROs in a way that involves patients, too."

Using genetic fingerprinting techniques, they looked to see if the strains of MRSA bacteria on the patients' hands were the same as the ones in their rooms. They found the two matched in nearly all cases - suggesting that transfer to and from the patient was happening.

They reported that six patients in their study who developed an infection with a superbug called MRSA while in the hospital; all had positive tests for MRSA on their hands and hospital room surfaces.

"This study highlights the importance of hand washing and environmental cleaning, especially within a healthcare setting where patients' immune systems are compromised," says the lead author.

When these germs are not washed off, they pass easily from person to person and objects to person and make people sick," he added.

She advised, "This study is a good reminder to clean your hands often, using good techniques--especially before and after preparing food, before eating food, after using a toilet, and before and after caring for someone who is sick-- to protect yourself and others."

"Infection prevention is everybody's business," she concluded.  

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/    

                                                                                                                                                     FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/  

         

                   FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                  https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com 

A new antibacterial drug-delivery system developed

The nanoconjugates will be useful for cancer patients suffering from bacterial infections

A new antibiotic drug-delivery system that improves the efficacy of drugs thereby reducing the dosage used for treating bacterial infections has been tested in a lab by researchers. A peptide, which has not been approved for clinical use, bound to gold nanoparticles was able to kill E. coli and Salmonella typhi more efficiently at lower dosages.

“Drug delivery becomes better and the bioavailability improves when the drug is conjugated [bound] to gold nanoparticles. So reduced dosage is sufficient to kill the bacteria. Reducing the dosage of antibiotics used is one of the strategies to reduce the possibility of drug resistance setting in,” says the Dr.

Bioavailability

The peptide in a free form may not be bioavailable as it gets degraded relatively fast. In a free form, the peptide is also not able to effectively kill the bacteria by engaging with the bacterial membrane and disrupting it, while the nanoconjugate fares better on these counts.

The challenge was to arrive at an optimum number of peptides that are bound to nanoparticles to get the best results. When there are too few or too many peptides bound to the nanoparticles the antibacterial activity gets compromised. “There is significant antibacterial activity when about 1000 peptides are bound to a nanoparticle,” says Dr.

The peptide called sushi-peptide bound to nanoparticles was able to kill 50% of bacteria at much lower concentration (400 nM) while the free peptide’s antibacterial activity was not significant at the same concentration, says one of the  authors of the paper.

Besides normal cells infected with bacteria, the peptide bound to nanoparticles will be particularly useful in the case of cancer patients suffering from bacterial infections. “Rapid metabolism at the cancer site sucks all nutrients and leads to nutritional deficit in the body. When chemotherapy is given even the bacteria already present in the body but kept under check become disease-causing,” says a cancer specialist

After chemotherapy the immunological response gets damaged as cells responsible for protecting against bacteria are reduced in number. So the person becomes vulnerable to infection. “Antibiotics by itself cannot kill all the bacteria. The inherent immunological response should be able to challenge the bacteria once antibiotic treatment is completed. Since this does not happen, the bacteria develop drug resistance,” says Dr.

Folate receptors

Specific receptors called folate receptors are present in large numbers on the surface of cancer cells. Folic acid added to the nanoconjugates is recognised by these receptors and help in the binding process. “Once the nanoconjugates enter the cancer cells they interact with the bacteria and kill them by disrupting the cell membrane. The nanoconjugates have 40% better antibacterial activity compared with free peptides,” says one of the authors of the paper.

The nanoconjugate is not toxic to cancer cells and targets only the bacteria.

“We would next like to study if our nanoconjugates can be used on antibiotic-resistant strains and also understand the fate of gold nanoparticles used for making the nanoconjugates,” says Dr.  Instead of gold nanoparticle, biodegradable polymers can be used. The only condition is that the peptide should be able to interact with the bacterial membrane. A few more studies have to be carried out before the nanoconjugate can be tested on animals.

  this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.                                                                                                             https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations                                   https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes                 https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement          

WHO publishes list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to speed up drug research

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published its first-ever list of antibiotic-resistant “priority pathogens”, a catalogue of 12 bacteria families that pose a great threat to human health.

The list was drawn up in a bid to guide and promote research and development (R&D) of new antibiotics, as part of WHO’s efforts to address growing resistance among bacteria to medicines currently in use. It highlights the threat of gram-negative bacteria that have inculcated the ability to resist treatment, and are capable of passing on genetic material that allows other microbes to become drug-resistant as well. Consequently, ailments such as urinary tract infections – which were eminently treatable until a few years ago – have now become life-threatening.

“This list is a new tool to ensure that R&D responds to urgent public health needs,” says Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO’s assistant director-general for health systems and innovation. “Antibiotic resistance is growing, and we are fast running out of treatment options. If we leave it to market forces, the new antibiotics we urgently need won’t be developed in time.”

The WHO list is divided into three categories: critical, high and medium priority. The most critical group includes multidrug resistant bacteria that target hospitals, nursing homes and patients dependent on life-preserving devices such as ventilators and blood catheters. They include Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and various Enterobacteriaceae (such as Klebsiella, E coli, Serratia and Proteus). They can cause deadly infections such as bloodstream infections and pneumonia. These bacteria have become resistant to a large number of antibiotics, including carbapenems and third-generation cephalosporins – the best available option for treating multi-drug resistant bacteria.

The second and third tiers in the list – the high and medium priority categories – contain other increasingly drug-resistant bacteria that cause more common diseases such as gonorrhoea and food poisoning due to salmonella.

The matter will come up at a meeting of G20 health experts in Berlin this week. “We need effective antibiotics for our health systems. We have to take joint action today for a healthier tomorrow. Therefore, we will discuss and bring the G20’s attention to the fight against antimicrobial resistance. WHO’s first global priority pathogen list is an important new tool to secure and guide R&D related to new antibiotics,” says Mr Hermann Gröhe, federal minister of health, Germany.

The list is intended to spur governments to put in place policies that incentivise basic science and advanced R&D by both publicly funded agencies and private sector entities investing in new antibiotic discovery. It will provide guidance to new R&D initiatives such as the WHO/Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) Global Antibiotic R&D Partnership, which is engaging in the not-for-profit development of new antibiotics.

Tuberculosis, which has become increasingly resistant to traditional treatment in recent years, was not included in the list because it is targeted by other dedicated programmes. Other bacteria that were not included, such as streptococcus A and B and chlamydia, have low levels of resistance to existing treatments and do not currently pose a significant public health threat.

The list was developed in collaboration with the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Tübingen, Germany, using a multi-criteria decision analysis technique vetted by a group of international experts. The criteria for selecting pathogens on the list were: How deadly their infections are; whether their treatment requires long hospital stays; how frequent is their resistance to existing antibiotics; how easily they spread from animal to animal, animals to humans, and from person to person; whether they can be prevented (e.g. through good hygiene and vaccination); how many treatment options remain; and whether new antibiotics to treat them are already in the R&D pipeline.

“New antibiotics targeting this priority list of pathogens will help reduce deaths due to resistant infections across the world,” says Prof Evelina Tacconelli, head of the infectious diseases division at the University of Tübingen and a major contributor to the list. “Waiting any longer will cause further public health problems and dramatically impact patient care.”

While more R&D is vital, it’s not enough to curb bacterial resistance to drugs. To address the issue, the authorities must ensure better prevention of infections and appropriate use of existing antibiotics in humans and animals – besides rational application of new drugs developed in the future.

India has been doing its bit to combat the problem too. “The threat of anti-microbial resistance is very real, and we always knew it was coming. This is why we have been working to combat the threat for a while now. A national action plan to tackle it is underway, and should be out anytime,” said a senior researcher at the National Centre for Disease Control.

 this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.
https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes 
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

Nisin: A natural food preservative that can kill cancer cells

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.

PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-
HTTP:GSEASYRECIPES.BLOGSPOT.COM      

FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG

HTTP://KNEE REPLACEMENT-STICK CLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM/

FOR CROCHET DESIGNS- http://My Crochet Creations.blogspot.com/


Nisin, a naturally occurring food preservative that grows on dairy products, delivers a one-two punch to two of medicine’s most lethal maladies: cancer and deadly, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Researchers focused on the cancer-killing properties of nisin, a colorless, tasteless powder widely used as a food preservative.
“The application of nisin has advanced beyond its role as a food biopreservative,” said researcher Yvonne Kapila, professor at University of Michigan School of Dentistry in the US.

“Current findings and other published data support nisin’s potential use to treat antibiotic resistant infections, periodontal disease and cancer,” Kapila noted.

The researchers found that feeding rats a “nisin milkshake” killed 70-80 percent of head and neck tumour cells after nine weeks and extended survival.

The mice were given a highly purified nisin dosage of 800 mg/kg. Nisin is typically added to food at the rate of .25 to 37.5 mg/kg. Many foods contain nisin, but nowhere near the 800 mg/kg needed to kill cancer cells.

Several products available to consumers also contain nisin - creams and pharmaceuticals to fight infection and mastitis, and a sanitiser in lactating cows.
 
Nisin also fights deadly bacteria such as antibiotic-resistant MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). 

“To date, nobody had found bacteria from humans or living animals that is resistant to nisin,” Kapila said.

While promising, the results are small and in mice only, so it is too early to say if nisin will act the same way in humans, Kapila said.
The findings will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.