Antibacterial efficiency of natural products against multiple-drug-resistant clinical isolates

Background Antibiotic resistance is a global problem that has aggravated recently to threaten humans, cattle, and crops. This has inspired scientists to examine various natural products, herbs, and plants that have been used since antiquity for their valuable medicinal potential. They have not only proven less likelihood to produce resistant strains but also exert a positive effect on beneficial probiotics boosting the general health status of the host. Objective To identify the major multiple-drug-resistant bacteria underlying diabetic foot ulcer infections and screen and select herbs and natural extracts, commonly available in local herbal stores, for their activity against the isolated bacteria. Material and methods Bacteria isolated from diabetic foot ulcers of hospitalized patients were identified according to their morphological and biochemical properties. The isolated strains were tested against extracts of bitter melon, honey, pomegranate peel, myrrh gum, and turmeric powder using the in vitro agar well-diffusion assay technique. Results and conclusion The bacterial isolates were resistant to all of the tested standard antibiotics and identified to belong to five different genera: Gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes and Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All of the natural preparations exerted different levels of antibacterial activity except for bitter melon. These findings shed tremendous light on the up-till-now promising effect of the natural antibiotics arsenal and necessitate the importance of systemically studying their individual and synergistic mechanisms, interactions, and kinetics.