Tahir M. Khan

The Potential of Streptomyces as Biocontrol Agents against the Rice Blast Fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae (Pyricularia oryzae)

Rice is a staple food source for more than three billion people worldwide. However, rice is vulnerable to diseases, the most destructive among them being rice blast, which is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (anamorph Pyricularia oryzae). This fungus attacks rice plants at all stages of development, causing annual losses of approximately 10–30% in various rice producing regions. Synthetic fungicides are often able to effectively control plant diseases, but some fungicides result in serious environmental and health problems. Therefore, there is growing interest in discovering and developing new, improved fungicides based on natural products as well as introducing alternative measures such as biocontrol agents to manage plant diseases. Streptomyces bacteria appear to be promising biocontrol agents against a wide range of phytopathogenic fungi, which is not surprising given their ability to produce various bioactive compounds. This review provides insight into the biocontrol potential of Streptomyces against the rice blast fungus, M. oryzae. The ability of various Streptomyces spp. to act as biocontrol agents of rice blast disease has been studied by researchers under both laboratory and greenhouse/growth chamber conditions. Laboratory studies have shown that Streptomyces exhibit inhibitory activity against M. oryzae. In greenhouse studies, infected rice seedlings treated with Streptomyces resulted in up to 88.3% disease reduction of rice blast. Studies clearly show that Streptomyces spp. have the potential to be used as highly effective biocontrol agents against rice blast disease; however, the efficacy of any biocontrol agent may be affected by several factors including environmental conditions and methods of application. In order to fully exploit their potential, further studies on the isolation, formulation and application methods of Streptomyces along with field experiments are required to establish them as effective biocontrol agents.

Public attitude and justification to purchase antibiotics in the Eastern region Al Ahsa of Saudi Arabia.

Use of non-prescription antibiotics can portend danger and predispose the populace to changes in bacterial resistance pattern. The aims of this study were to (a) evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of residents of Al-Ahsa community, Saudi Arabia on the use of non-prescribed antibiotics. (b) To identify possible predictors (if any) for self-medication within the community. A cross-sectional survey study, using self-administered questionnaire was conducted in two sections; demographics and self-medication attitude (in form of self-antibiotic use). Questions contained the following outcomes; for demographics; gender, age, education level and common disease within the community. Whereas the second part evaluated sources of information, knowledge of antibiotics, frequency/duration of use, underlined illness in which drug use was employed, names of antibiotics used and awareness of adverse effects of antibiotics. Results revealed that the adult population in the 18–40 year age range constituted about 82.5% of the respondents. Also 18–29 age group made of 60.5% of the respondents and that 56.8% the respondents are university graduates. Cold (18.8%) and sore throat (13.0%) were the diseases commonly found among the community that drove them to using non-prescribed antibiotics. About 337 (72.8%) of the respondent mention the use of antibiotics to treat the illness, and 21 (4.5%) were aiming to prevent the illness. While, 19.4% of the respondents admitted to taking non-prescribed antibiotics for both prevention and treatment of illness. 43.6% of the respondents disclosed that they are not aware of the dangers of using non-prescribed antibiotics. In conclusion the use of non-prescribed antibiotics in this community is evident, as a significant number use them from previous experience for prevention and treatment of illness. Therefore introduction of rational use of drugs will help in limiting the attendant development of bacterial resistance.

Streptomyces colonosanans sp. nov., A Novel Actinobacterium Isolated from Malaysia Mangrove Soil Exhibiting Antioxidative Activity and Cytotoxic Potential against Human Colon Cancer Cell Lines

Streptomyces colonosanans MUSC 93JT, a novel strain isolated from mangrove forest soil located at Sarawak, Malaysia. The bacterium was noted to be Gram-positive and to form light yellow aerial and vivid yellow substrate mycelium on ISP 2 agar. The polyphasic approach was used to determine the taxonomy of strain MUSC 93JT and the strain showed a range of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with those of the members of the genus Streptomyces. Phylogenetic and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that closely related strains include Streptomyces malachitofuscus NBRC 13059T (99.2% sequence similarity), Streptomyces misionensis NBRC 13063T (99.1%), and Streptomyces phaeoluteichromatogenes NRRL 5799T (99.1%). The DNA–DNA relatedness values between MUSC 93JT and closely related type strains ranged from 14.4 ± 0.1 to 46.2 ± 0.4%. The comparison of BOX-PCR fingerprints indicated MUSC 93JT exhibits a unique DNA profile. The genome of MUSC 93JT consists of 7,015,076 bp. The DNA G + C content was determined to be 69.90 mol%. The extract of strain MUSC 93JT was demonstrated to exhibit potent antioxidant activity via ABTS, metal chelating, and SOD assays. This extract also exhibited anticancer activity against human colon cancer cell lines without significant cytotoxic effect against human normal colon cells. Furthermore, the chemical analysis of the extract further emphasizes the strain is producing chemo-preventive related metabolites. Based on this polyphasic study of MUSC 93JT, it is concluded that this strain represents a novel species, for which the name Streptomyces colonosanans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MUSC 93JT (= DSM 102042T = MCCC 1K02298T).

Vibrio vulnificus: An Environmental and Clinical Burden

Vibrio vulnificus is a Gram negative, rod shaped bacterium that belongs to the family Vibrionaceae. It is a deadly, opportunistic human pathogen which is responsible for the majority of seafood-associated deaths worldwide. V. vulnificus infection can be fatal as it may cause severe wound infections potentially requiring amputation or lead to sepsis in susceptible individuals. Treatment is increasingly challenging as V. vulnificus has begun to develop resistance against certain antibiotics due to their indiscriminate use. This article aims to provide insight into the antibiotic resistance of V. vulnificus in different parts of the world as well as an overall review of its clinical manifestations, treatment, and prevention. Understanding the organisms antibiotic resistance profile is vital in order to select appropriate treatment and initiate appropriate prevention measures to treat and control V. vulnificus infections, which should eventually help lower the mortality rate associated with this pathogen worldwide.

Bile Sensing: The Activation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Virulence

Bacteria must develop resistance to various inhospitable conditions in order to survive in the human gastrointestinal tract. Bile, which is secreted by the liver, and plays an important role in food digestion also has antimicrobial properties and is able to disrupt cellular homeostasis. Paradoxically, although bile is one of the guts defenses, many studies have reported that bacteria such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus can sense bile and use its presence as an environmental cue to upregulate virulence genes during infection. This article aims to discuss how bile is detected by V. parahaemolyticus and its role in regulating type III secretion system 2 leading to human infection. This bile–bacteria interaction pathway gives us a clearer understanding of the biochemical and structural analysis of the bacterial receptors involved in mediating a response to bile salts which appear to be a significant environmental cue during initiation of an infection.

Dietary supplementation of chloroquine with nigella sativa seed and oil extracts in the treatment of malaria induced in mice with plasmodium berghei.

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of dietary combination of Nigella sativa seed and oil extracts with chloroquine (CQ), and how these combinations enhance CQ efficacy in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei and their survival rates. Materials and Methods: Chloroquine sensitive P. berghei, NK65 strain was used for the study. This was passaged intraperitoneally into albino mice with a 0.2ml standard inoculum consisting of 106 parasitized erythrocyte suspension in phosphate buffer solution (PBS). Parasitaemia was ascertained by microscopical examination of blood films under oil immersion at X100 magnification. Results: Nigella sativa seed in feed (NSSF), NSSF + CQ on day 4, produced 86.1% and 86.0% suppression respectively, while Nigella sativa oil extract in feed (NSOF) and in combination with CQ had 86.0% and 99.9% suppression respectively. The degree of suppression with the combination was significantly higher compared to CQ alone (P < 0.001) (36.1%). Complete parasitaemia clearance was obtained on the 20th and 15th day of treatment for NSSF, NSSF + CQ respectively, while that for NSOF and NSOF + CQ was on days 26 and 12 respectively. For CQ parasite clearance was 12 days with treatment. Also, the combinastion of 10 mg/kg Nigella sativa oil treatment injected intraperitoneally with oral CQ produced very significant parasite suppression (P < 0.0001) (93%). Survival rate in NSSF and NSOF and in combination with CQ groups was 100 and 60.0% for CQ alone. Conclusions: This study shows that the use of Nigella sativa seed and oil extract as dietary supplements in combination with CQ has a potential in enhancing the efficacy of CQ and could be of benefit in management of malaria.

Efficacy of Pharmacist Based Diabetes Educational Interventions on Clinical Outcomes of Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Network Meta-Analysis

Background: Comparative efficacy of different pharmacist based interventions on glycemic control of type 2 diabetes patients is unclear. This review aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacy of different pharmacist based interventions on clinical outcomes of type 2 diabetes patients. Methods: A systematic search was conducted across five databases from date of database inception to September 2017. All randomized clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of pharmacist based interventions on type 2 diabetes patients were included for network meta-analysis (NMA). The protocol is available with PROSPERO (CRD42017078854). Results: A total of 43 studies, involving 6259 type 2 diabetes patients, were included. NMA demonstrated that all interventions significantly lowered glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels compared to usual care, but there was no statistical evidence from this study that one intervention was significantly better than the other for reducing HbA1c levels. Pharmacist based diabetes education plus pharmaceutical care showed maximum efficacy for reducing HbA1c levels [−0.86, 95% CI −0.983, −0.727; p < 0.001]. Pharmacist based diabetes education plus pharmaceutical care was observed to be statistically significant in lowering levels of systolic blood pressure [−4.94; 95%CI −8.65, −1.23] and triglycerides levels [−0.26, 95%CI −0.51, −0.01], as compared to the interventions which involved diabetes education by pharmacist, and for body mass index (BMI) [−0.57; 95%CI −1.25, −0.12] in comparison to diabetes education by health care team involving pharmacist as member. Conclusion: The findings of this review demonstrate that all interventions had a significantly positive effect on HbA1c, but there was no statistical evidence from this study that one intervention was significantly better than the other for achieving glycemic control.Pharmacist based diabetes education plus pharmaceutical care showed maximum efficacy on HbA1c and rest of the clinical outcomes.

Self-medication and non-adherence with antibiotics: the current situation in Pakistan

Healthcare reforms in Pakistan have increased the direct accessibility of medicines to the public through sales in pharmacy outlets. Many medicines are being dispensed without any prescription. This style of medicine distribution practice has been linked with irrational use of medicines and non‐compliance with medicines regulations. This discussion highlights the issues of self‐medication and non‐adherence to regulations with antibiotics that arise as a result of unregulated supply of these important medicines, and provides recommendations for ways in which these problems might be approached.

Service learning for pharmacy students: experience of a home‐grown Community Engagement Elective unit

Service learning has been shown to benefit both students in the healthcare profession and the communities they serve, by equipping students with skills that enable them to identify and meet the needs of these communities. The current paper addresses the planning and design of an elective community engagement unit in an undergraduate pharmacy program and also highlights some of the students’ experiences with this program as well as the skills gained through this engagement. This community engagement unit was found to be an effective way of implementing the concept of service learning among pharmacy students at Monash University Malaysia. The tasks and assessments incorporated in this unit have not only provided the chance for students to improve their communication skills but have also enabled them to develop empathy and leadership abilities, which are valuable lifelong skills for a pharmacy graduate.

Knowledge and Practice of Pharmacists toward Antimicrobial Stewardship in Pakistan

Background: The irrational use, “over the counter supply”, and unregulated supply chains of antimicrobials are contributing toward antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial stewardship programs regulate antimicrobials usage to prevent resistance and reduce health care burden. Objective: To assess the knowledge and practice of pharmacists’ working in various healthcare settings toward antimicrobial stewardship in Pakistan. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among pharmacists working in different sectors between March to June 2017. Results: A total of 181 pharmacists participated, of whom (n = 145, 80.1%) were males. The majority of participants were in the 20–30 age group (n = 147, 81.2%) and hold Doctor of Pharmacy degrees. More than 80% of pharmacists agreed that “antimicrobial stewardship is essential to improve patient care”; while (n = 159, 87.8%) pharmacists agreed that “pharmacist should be trained on the use of antimicrobial”. Close to 90% of pharmacists agreed that “adequate training should be provided to pharmacists on antimicrobial use”. Regarding the practice of antimicrobial stewardship, (n = 72, 39.8%) pharmacists often/always “make efforts to prevent or reduce the transmission of infections within the community”; (n = 58, 32%) pharmacists never “dispense antimicrobials without a prescription”; and (n = 60, 32%) pharmacist often/always “communicate with prescribers if unsure about the appropriateness of an antibiotic prescription”. Conclusions: Increased antimicrobial stewardship efforts can both optimize the treatment of infections and reduce adverse events associated with antibiotic use. Pharmacists in Pakistan have good knowledge and adopt positive practices toward antimicrobial stewardship. Pharmacist and other health care professionals should collaborate within multi-disciplinary teams to reduce the problem of antimicrobial resistance and improve the quality of life of patients.