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Two populations of Physalis patula Miller collected in different localities (Querétaro and Teotihuacán) of Central México were analyzed. Eight new compounds including three withanolides, physapatolides A-C (1-3), two labdanes, 12-epi-physacoztomatin (10) and physapatulone (12), besides three 12-O-glucosyl labdanes, patulosides A-C (13-15), were isolated from these collections. A series of known withanolides, flavonoids, labdanes, sucrose esters, and sterols were also isolated. Withanolides isolated of each population exhibited different substitution patterns of ring D, thus while 15,16-dioxygenated withanolides were found in the Querétaro population, oxygenation occurs at C-14 and C-15 in those isolated from Teotihuacán population. The structures of all the isolated compounds were determined by analysis of their spectroscopic and spectrometric data. The absolute configuration assigned to physapatolide A (1) was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis of its acetyl derivative 1a, while those of labdane diterpenoids were based on chemical correlations. The antibacterial activity of 16 of the isolated compounds (1-3, 5-9, 13, 14, and 16-21) and two derivatives (13a, 14a) was evaluated against five ATCC bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis). Compounds 1-3 inhibited around 100 % the growth of S. aureus at 250 μg/mL (w/v). The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of compounds 1, 2, and 3, against S. aureus were 62.5, 125 and 62.5 μg/mL, respectively, whereas their MIC's against a Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clinical isolate were 125, 62.5 and 62.5 μg/mL, respectively., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The Yucatan Peninsula has a privileged wealth of vascular plants with which various Mayan herbal formulations have been developed. However, studies on their antipathogenic and antivirulence properties are scarce., Aim of the Study: Identify antivirulence properties in Mayan herbal remedies and determine their antipathogenic capacity in burn wounds infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa., Materials and Methods: An ethnobotanical study was conducted in Mayan communities in central and southern Quintana Roo, Mexico. Furthermore, the antipathogenic capacity of three Mayan herbal remedies was analyzed using an animal model of thermal damage and P. aeruginosa infection. Antivirulence properties were determined by inhibiting phenotypes regulated by quorum sensing (pyocyanin, biofilm, and swarming) and by the secretion of the ExoU toxin. The chemical composition of the most active herbal remedy was analyzed using molecular network analysis., Results: It was found that topical administration of the remedy called "herbal soap" (HS) for eleven days maintained 100% survival of the animals, reduced establishment of the bacteria in the burn and prevented its systemic dispersion. Although no curative effect was recorded on tissue damaged by HS treatment, its herbal composition strongly reduced swarming and ExoU secretion. Through analysis of Molecular Networks, it was possible to carry out a global study of its chemical components, and identify the family of oxindole monoterpenoid alkaloids and carboline and tetrahydropyrididole alkaloids. In addition, flavonols, flavan-3-ols, and quinic acid derivatives were detected., Conclusions: The antipathogenic and antivirulence capacity of ancient Mayan remedies makes them a potential resource for developing new antibacterial therapies to treat burns infected by P. aeruginosa., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in oysters from the northwestern coast of Mexico and to identify the serotypes, virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance of the strains. Oyster samples were collected from 2012 to 2020 from the northwest coast of Mexico; biochemical and molecular methods were used to identify V. parahaemolyticus from oysters; antiserum reaction to determine V. parahaemolyticus serotypes, and PCR assays were performed to identify pathogenic (tdh and/or trh) or pandemic (toxRS/new, and/or orf8) strains and antibiotic resistance testing. A total of 441 oyster samples were collected and tested for V. parahaemolyticus. Forty-seven percent of oyster samples were positive for V. parahaemolyticus. Ten different O serogroups and 72 serovars were identified, predominantly serotype O1:KUT with 22.2% and OUT:KUT with 17.3%. Twenty new serotypes that had not been previously reported in our region were identified. We detected 4.3% of pathogenic clones but no pandemic strains. About 73.5% of strains were resistant to at least one antibiotic, mainly ampicillin and ciprofloxacin; 25% were multi-drug resistant. In conclusion, the pathogenic strains in oysters and antibiotic resistance are of public health concern, as the potential for outbreaks throughout northwestern Mexico is well established., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Providencia rettgeri, belonging to the genus Providencia, had gained significant interest due to its increasing prevalence as a common pathogen responsible for healthcare-associated infections in hospitals. P. rettgeri isolates producing carbapenemases have been reported to reduce the efficiency of carbapenems in clinical antimicrobial therapy. However, coexistence with other resistance determinants is rarely reported. The goal of this study was the molecular characterization of carbapenemase-producing Providencia spp. clinical isolates. Among 23 Providencia spp. resistant to imipenem, 21 were positive to bla NDM-1 ; one positive to bla NDM-1 and bla OXA-58 like ; and one isolate co-producing bla IMP-27 , bla OXA-24/40 like , and bla OXA-58 like were identified. We observed a low clonal relationship, and the incompatibility groups Col3M and ColRNAI were identified in the plasmid harboring bla NDM-1 . We report for the first time a P. rettgeri strain co-producing bla IMP-27 , bla OXA-24-like , and bla OXA-58 like . The analysis of these resistance mechanisms in carbapenemase co-producing clinical isolates reflects the increased resistance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Introduction: Acetic acid (AA) has been commonly used in medicine as an antiseptic agent for the past 6000 years. This study evaluated the antibacterial effect of AA during an outbreak in an intensive care unit (ICU) facility in Baja California Sur, México., Methodology: Thirty-five environmental samples were collected, subsequently, disinfection with AA (4%) was performed, and two days later the same areas were sampled inside the ICU facility. Carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) was detected with loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay (Garciglia-Mercado et al. companion paper), targeting blaOXA-23-like, blaOXA-24-like, blaOXA-51-like, blaOXA-58-like, blaIMP and blaVIM genes. CRAB isolates before and after disinfection were compared by PFGE., Results: Eighteen (54.5%) and five (14.3%) of thirty-five environmental samples were identified as Acinetobacter baumannii before and after disinfection, respectively, showing a significant decrease of 85.7% (p < 0.05) both by Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Furthermore, the presence of blaOXA-23-like and blaOXA-58-like genes significantly decreased (p < 0.05) both by LAMP and PCR methods. PFGE genotype showed high similarity among CRAB isolates before and after disinfection, suggesting wide clonal dissemination in the ICU facility., Conclusions: This study demonstrated the novel application of AA with the LAMP assays developed for detecting CRAB. AA promises to be a cheap and efficacious disinfectant alternative to both developed and especially developing countries, preventing the spread of this organism in the environment and to other susceptible patients in health care settings., Competing Interests: No Conflict of Interest is declared, (Copyright (c) 2021 Carolina Garciglia-Mercado, Ramon Gaxiola-Robles, Felipe Ascencio, Concepcion Grajales-Muniz, Maria Luisa Soriano Rodriguez, Jesus Silva-Sanchez, Maria Teresa Estrada-Garcia, Gracia A Gomez-Anduro.)

Purpose: This paper aims to evaluate the antimicrobial resistance of Esherichia coli isolates from children under 5 years old, with and without diarrhoea, who were hospital outpatients in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. It also looks at the antimicrobial activity of fruit extracts against selected multidrug-resistant (MDR) E. coli strains., Methodology: A total of 205 E. coli isolates from stool samples were collected from 94 children under 5 years old who were outpatients from two hospitals in the city of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, during the autumn/winter of 2003/04; their resistance profiles to 19 commercial antimicrobials were investigated using the Kirby-Bauer method. The antibacterial activities of extracts/fractions of fruits (i.e. uvalama, Vitex mollis; ayale, Crescentia alata; and arrayan, Psidium sartorianum) were evaluated using the broth microdilution method., Results: All E. coli isolates were susceptible to amikacin, nitrofurantoin and meropenem, and approximately 96 % were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, especially carbenicillin (93.2 %), cefuroxime sodium (53.7 %), ampicillin (40 %) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (35.1 %). Likewise, the frequency of MDR strains (44.9 %) was high, and no significant association with diarrhoea symptoms was found. Remarkably, all fruit extracts/fractions showed antibacterial activity against some, but not all, MDR isolates. The lowest minimal inhibitory concentration values were for the hexane fraction of arrayan (0.25 mg ml-1)., Conclusion: A high number of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli (especially to β-lactams and sulfonamides) and MDR isolates were detected in children under 5 years old, irrespective of diarrhoea symptoms; this is novel information for Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. Moreover, our results showed that the studied fruit extracts/fractions are potential alternative or complementary treatments for MDR E. coli strains.

The ethanolic extracts of 72 plants belonging to 35 different families, and used in traditional medicine in Baja California Sur (México), were tested for antimicrobial activity in vitro using the filter paper disk assay method. Activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus faecalis (Gram-positive microorganisms), Escherichia coli (Gram-negative microorganisms) and Candida albicans (yeast) is discussed.