Abstract

Increasing resistance to currently used antimicrobials has resulted in the evaluation of other methods to rectify this growing health concern. Herein, we present an investigation to examine the modulation of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria grown in the presence of a specific nutrient synergy (SNS) known as Epican Forte (EF). We have conducted tests on thirty colonies of each of the following bacterial species: Staphylococcus aureus,Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica andStaphylococcus saprophyticus. Bacterial cells were grown in brain heart infusion broth (BHI) in the presence and absence of EF at 37°C for 1, 2 and 3 h. The antimicrobial resistance patterns of the SNS-exposed and SNS-deprived isolates were examined and evaluated by Wilcoxon tests to assess the significance of the percentage increase in antimicrobial susceptibility. Our results indicate a significant increase in the inhibition zone diameters of most SNS-exposed bacterial colonies, demonstrating a rise in drug-susceptibility. Whilst this analysis has indeed provided significant insights, further investigations are required to identify the mechanisms involved in nutrient synergy reduction of bacterial resistance to drugs.

Key words: Antimicrobial resistance, Epican Forte, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Yersinia enterocolitica, specific nutrient synergy

Abbreviation

SNS, Specific nutrient synergy; EGCG, epigallocatechingallate; AA,ascorbic acid; P-gp, P-glycoprotein; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; BHI, brain heart infusion; EF, Epican Forte; MH, Mueller Hinton plates; NCCLS, National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards; MRSA, methicillin-resistant S. aureus.