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Resveratrol (RES) is a polyphenol and phytoalexin present in most of the herbal plants and its products. It is frequently prescribed as a preventing therapy for diseases like cancer, cardiovascular...

Objective: Andrographolide has potent anticancer and antimicrobial activity; however, its clinical application has been limited due to its poor water solubility as well as lack of appropriate formulation. The objective of this investigation was to formulate Self–Micro Emulsifying Drug Delivery System (SMEDDS) of andrographolide and explore its oral drug delivery aptitudes. Methods: Andrographolide SMEDDS was optimized by ternary phase approach and studied for various in vitro characteristics: Particle size, electron microscopy, polydispersity index, surface charge, dilution effect, pH stability, freeze-thaw effect, dissolution profile and stability studies. Further, antimicrobial and cytotoxic performance of andrographolide SMEDDS were evaluated in MCF–7 breast cancer cell lines and methicillin-resistant microorganisms, respectively. Results: An optimized SMEDDS formulation of andrographolide was successfully prepared and evaluated for its drug delivery potential. The solubility of andrographolide in the developed SMEDDS formulation was increased significantly, and the drug loading was enough for making this drug clinically applicable. The andrographolide SMEDDS formulation competitively inhibited the growth of microorganisms and showed enhanced anti–microbial activity against MRSA microorganisms. Conclusion: The SMEDDS strategy represents one of the best approaches to deliver andrographolide via oral route, while resolving its solubility limitations.

We define the epidemiology of predominant and sporadic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains in a central teaching and referral hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This is done on the basis of spa sequencing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCC mec ) typing, and virulence gene profiling. During the period of study, the MRSA prevalence was 44.1%, and 389 MRSA strains were included. The prevalence of MRSA was found to be significantly higher in the patients of Indian ethnicity ( P < 0.001). The majority (92.5%) of the isolates belonged to ST-239, spa type t037, and possessed the type III or IIIA SCC mec . The arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME) arcA gene was detected in three (1.05%) ST-239 isolates. We report the first identification of ACME arcA gene-positive ST-239. Apart from this predominant clone, six (1.5%) isolates of ST-22, with two related spa types (t032 and t4184) and a singleton (t3213), carrying type IVh SCC mec , were detected for the first time in Asia. A limited number of community-acquired (CA) MRSA strains were also detected. These included ST-188/t189 (2.1%), ST-1/t127 (2.3%), and ST-7/t091 (1%). Panton-Valentin leukocidin (PVL) was detected in all ST-1 and ST-188 strains and in 0.7% of the ST-239 isolates. The majority of the isolates carried agr I, except that ST-1 strains were agr III positive. Virulence genes seg and sei were seen only among ST-22 isolates. In conclusion, current results revealed the predominance of ST-239-SCC mec III/IIIA and the penetration of ST-22 with different virulence gene profiles. The emergence in Malaysia of novel clones of known epidemic and pathogenic potential should be taken seriously.

Despite the association of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) with several life-threatening diseases, relatively little is known about their clinical epidemiology in Malaysia. We characterized MSSA isolates (n = 252) obtained from clinical and community (carriage) sources based on spa sequencing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The prevalence of several important virulence genes was determined to further define the molecular characteristics of MSSA clones circulating in Malaysia. Among the 142 clinical and 110 community-acquired MSSA isolates, 98 different spa types were identified, corresponding to 8 different spa clonal clusters (spa-CCs). In addition, MLST analysis revealed 22 sequence types (STs) with 5 singletons corresponding to 12 MLST-CCs. Interestingly, spa-CC084/085 (MLST-CC15) (p = 0.038), spa-non-founder 2 (MLST-ST188) (p = 0.002), and spa-CC127 (MLST-CC1) (p = 0.049) were identified significantly more often among clinical isolates. spa-CC3204 (MLST-CC121) (p = 0.02) and spa-CC015 (MLST-CC45) (p = 0.0002) were more common among community isolates. Five dominant MLST-CCs (CC8, CC121, CC1, CC45, and CC5) having clear counterparts among the major MRSA clones were also identified in this study. While the MSSA strains are usually genetically heterogeneous, a relatively high frequency (19/7.5%) of ST188 (t189) strains was found, with 57.8% of these strains carrying the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL). Analysis of additional virulence genes showed a frequency of 36.5% and 36.9% for seg and sei and 0.8% and 6.3% for etb and tst genes, respectively. Arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME) was detected in 4 community isolates only. These represent the first isolates harbouring this gene in an Asian region. In conclusion, MSSA from the Malaysian community and their clinical counterparts are genetically diverse, but certain clones occur more often among clinical isolates than among carriage isolates and vice versa. (C) 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.