The Effect of Alcoholic Extracts of Strawberries and Green Tea on Enterococcus faecalis Isolated from Urinary Tract Infections

(Aws Ibrahim Sulaiman and Saja Anwr Fadhil )

---

Abstract

Plant extracts contain active substances that exhibit antibacterial effects. Our study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of alcoholic extracts (acetone, methanol, and ethanol) of strawberries and green tea against Enterococcus spp. We collected 30 samples from individuals suffering from urinary tract infections. Initially, we identified 8 (26%) isolates outwardly; subsequent confirmatory molecular diagnostics resulted in one isolate, registered at the National Center for Biotechnology Information as AsAw1, marking a global first. The strawberry extract exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on Enterococcus spp., with a zone of inhibition measuring 23 and 26 mm. Conversely, the green tea extract demonstrated a weaker inhibitory effect, with a zone of inhibition measuring 19 mm. These findings underscore the potential of ethanolic strawberry extract as a natural antibacterial agent against Enterococcus spp., offering insights for further research and potential therapeutic applications in the treatment of urinary tract infections caused by these bacteria.
KEYWORDS
acetone, catechin, flavonoids, gelatinase, hemolytic, vancomycin

PDF

References

Abriouel, H., Omar, N. B., Molinos, A. C., López, R. L., Grande, M. J., Martínez-Viedma, P., Ortega, E., Cañamero, M. M., and Galvez, A. (2008). Comparative analysis of genetic diversity and incidence of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance among enterococcal populations from raw fruit and vegetable foods, water and soil, and clinical samples. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 123(1-2), 38–49. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2007.11.067
Asmah, N., Mattulada, I. K., and Dodo, A. Z. A. (2023). Antibacterial assay of green tea (Camellia Sinensis L) against the growth of Enterococcus faecalis. Journal of Syiah Kuala Dentistry Society, 8(2), 211–216. DOI: 10.24815/jds.v8i2.36627
Atlas, R. (2010). Handbook of Microbiological Media (4th ed.). Talyor and Francis Group, an Informa Business, USA.
Basam, B. M., Enas, I. J., Enaam, H. B., Zainab, H. S., and Khitam, A. O. (2016). Antimicrobial effects of Rubus idaeus, Origanum vulgare, Petroselinum crispum, and bacteria infecting urinary tract. IJOPILS, 2(n/a), 1–17.
Cornelissen, C., and Hobbs, M. (2020). Lippincott Illustrated Reviews: Microbiology (14th ed.). India: Wolters Kluwer.
Creti, R., Imperi, M., Bertuccini, L., Fabretti, F., Orefici, G., Di Rosa, R., and Baldassarri, L. (2004). Survey for virulence determinants among Enterococcus faecalis isolated from different sources. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 53(1), 13–20. DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.05353-0
Ghazvinian, M., Asgharzadeh, M. S., Gholami, M., Amir, G. S., Amiri, E., and Goli, H. R. (2024). Antimicrobial resistance patterns, virulence genes, and biofilm formation in enterococci strains collected from different sources. BMC Infectious Diseases, 24(1), 274. DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09117-2
Hashem, Y. A., Abdelrahman, K. A., and Aziz, R. K. (2021). Phenotype–genotype correlations and distribution of key virulence factors in Enterococcus faecalis isolated from patients with urinary tract infections. Infection and Drug Resistance, 14, 1713–1723. DOI: 10.2147/IDR.S305167
Hashem, Y. A., Amin, H. M., Essam, T. M., Yassin, A. S., and Aziz, R. K. (2017). Biofilm formation in enterococci: Genotype-phenotype correlations and inhibition by vancomycin. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1–12. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05901-0
Heidari, H., Hasanpour, S., Ebrahim-Saraie, H., and Motamedifar, M. (2017). High incidence of virulence factors among clinical Enterococcus faecalis isolates in Southwestern Iran. Infection & Chemotherapy, 49(1), 51. DOI: 10.3947/ic.2017.49.1.51
Humphries, R., Bobenchik, A. M., Hindler, J. A., and Schuetz, A. N. (2021). Overview of changes to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute performance standards for antimicrobial susceptibility testing, M100. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 59(12), e00213-21. DOI: 10.1128/JCM.00213-21
Jasni, A. S., Mullany, P., Hussain, H., and Roberts, A. P. (2010). Demonstration of conjugative transposon (Tn 5397)-mediated horizontal gene transfer between Clostridium difficile and Enterococcus faecalis. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 54(11), 4924–4926. DOI: 10.1128/AAC.00496-10
Khalid, H. M. (2016). Molecular detection of virulence factors of Enterococcus faecalis isolated from urine samples in Duhok City, Kurdistan Region/Iraq. Science Journal of University of Zakho, 4(1), 63–72.
Liya, S. J., and Siddique, R. (2018). Determination of antimicrobial activity of some commercial fruit (apple, papaya, lemon, and strawberry) against bacteria causing urinary tract infection. European Journal of Microbiology and Immunology, 8(3), 95–99. DOI: 10.1556/1886.2018.00014
Mahon, C. R., and Lehman, D. C. (2022). Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology-E-Book (7th ed.). USA: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Murray, P. R., Rosenthal, K. S., and Pfaller, M. A. (2015). Medical Microbiology. USA: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Neeva, N. I., Zafrin, N., Jhuma, A. A., Chowdhury, S. K., Fatema, K., and Rifat, T. A. (2024). Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Enterococcus species and molecular detection of Enterococcus faecalis isolated from patients with urinary tract infection in a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh. Indian Journal of Microbiology, n/a(n/a), 1–10. DOI: 10.1007/s12088-024-01216-7
Reygaert, W. C. (2017). An update on the health benefits of green tea. Beverages, 3(1), 6. DOI: 10.3390/beverages3010006
Saifi, M., Pourshafie, M., Eshraghian, M., and Dallal, M. (2008). Antimicrobial resistance of Enterococci isolated from urinary tract infection in Iran. Iranian Biomedical Journal, 12(3), 185–190.
Santosh, K., and Satya, N. (2010). Herbal remedies of wetlands macrophytes in India. International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences, 1(2), n/a.
Sulaiman, A. I., and Saad, A. (2024). Detection of Bacteroides fragilis LuxR gene, involved in quorum sensing, among colitis patients in Mosul, Iraq. Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 16(1), 118–122. DOI: 10.31018/jans.v16i1.4716
Tille, M. P. (2017). Bailey & Scott’s Diagnostic Microbiology (14th ed.). USA: Elsevier.
Wang, L., Zhang, T., Huo, J., Wang, Y., Lu, Y., and Zhu, X. (2024). Rapid and specific detection of Enterococcus faecium with an isothermal amplification and lateral flow strip combined method. Archives of Microbiology, 206(1), 28. DOI: 10.1007/s00203-023-03758-8
Widyarman, A. S., Widjaja, S. B., and Idrus, E. (2017). Strawberry extract’s effects on Enterococcus faecalis and Porphyromonas gingivalis biofilms in vitro. Scientific Dental Journal, 1(1), 1–5. DOI: 10.26912/sdj.v1i1.1911
Zhou, X., Wang, X., Guo, B., and Wang, X. (2013). Isolation and identification of Enterococcus faecalis and detection of its virulence factor genes in lambs presenting with encephalitis in Xinjiang Province, China. African Journal of Microbiology Research, 7(20), 2238–2244. DOI: 10.5897/AJMR12.912
1