Comparative Evaluation of Antimicrobial Efficacy of Herbal Formulations of Septilin and Triphala with Conventional 2% Chlorhexidine on Root Canal and Oral Commensal Bacteria using Kirby Bauer Method: An in-vitro Study

Efficacy of Various Herbal Preparations Against Oral Candida: A Lab-Based Study

Aim

This research was done to analyze the effectiveness related to herbal chemicals in tackling candidiasis.

Materials and Methods

Grounded and ethanol-extracted residues of plants like Avicennia marina, Fagonia indica, Portulaca oleracea, Lawsania inermis, Ziziphus spina, Asphodelus tenuifolius, and Salvadora persica were used in the study. The extract was used against candida species, after which the antibacterial as well as cytotoxicity toward the former were evaluated.

Results

L. inermis and P. oleracea with minimal inhibitory concentration of approx. 10 cenmL had an increased activity against candida species. The preparations of these plants acted against Candida albicans during its stages related to pathogenesis during biofilm production. Superadded infections like in case of bacterial infections along with candida can be difficult to cure. On human RBCs, these plant preparations had no toxicity at their minimum inhibitory concentration level.

Conclusion

We concluded that, as far as being anti-candida and acting against MDR bacterial infections, preparations of plants were effective as an alternative to allopathic drugs.

Enhancing Vibrio vulnificus infection diagnosis for negative culture patients with metagenomic next-generation sequencing

Objective

To evaluate the diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus) infection.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of patients with V. vulnificus infection at the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University from January 1, 2020 to April 23, 2023 was conducted. 14 enrolled patients were diagnosed by culture or mNGS. The corresponding medical records were reviewed, and the clinical data analyzed included demographics, epidemiology laboratory findings, physical examination, symptoms at presentation, antibiotic and surgical treatment, and outcome.

Results

In this study, 78.6% (11/14) patients had a history of marine trauma (including fish stab, shrimp stab, crab splints and fish hook wounds), 7.1% (1/14) had eaten seafood, and the remaining 14.3% (2/14) had no definite cause. Isolation of V. vulnificus from clinical samples including blood, tissue, fester and secreta. 9 cases were positive for culture, 5 cases were detected synchronously by mNGS and got positive for V. vulnificus. 85.7% (12/14) cases accepted surgical treatment, with 1 patient suffering finger amputated. 14 enrolled patients received appropriate antibiotic therapy, and all of them had recovered and discharged. 9 strains V. vulnificus isolated in this study were sensitive to most beta-lactam antibiotics, aminoglycosides, quinolones, etc.

Conclusion

Vibrio vulnificus infection is a common water-exposed disease in Zhuhai, which requires identification of a number of pathogens. Of severe infections with unknown pathogen, mNGS can be used simultaneously, and the potential to detect multiple pathogens is of great help in guiding treatment.