National Journal of Biological Sciences (NJBS)

Abstract

Objectives: Bacterial colonies proliferate in wounds and cuts of burn infections. These bacterial strains are the main cause of burn infections because they enter the body and multiply, leading to infection. The present study was to isolate the bacterial strains from the burn infected patients and also find the antibiotic susceptibility of the isolated bacterial strains.

Methods: Eight bacterial strains i.e., Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella oxytoca, P. aeruginosa, Coagulase negative Staphylococcus species, Proteus mirabilis,MRSA, and other Pseudomonas species were detected from burn wounds infections. Fifteen burn patients of both sexes had their burn wounds sampled. The average age of the four female and eleven male patients hospitalized in burn unit of Jinnah hospital Lahore was between 17 and 58 years old.

Results: The best dominant bacterial species was Staphylococcus aureus (90.90%) followed by Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species (36.36%), Proteus mirabilis (36.36%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (54.54%), Klebsiella oxytoca (63.63%), Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (18.18%), Pseudomonas species (54.54%). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out to the burn infections bacterial isolates. Gentamicin was found to be the most effective drug against most of the Gram positive and Gram negative isolates Tetracycline least effective. Amikacin and Ciprofloxacin showed highest resistance, and Tetracycline and Chloramphenicol showed lowest resistance against burn wound infections. Staphylococcus aureus showed Pseudomonas species or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (81.81%) had the highest percent for extensive drug resistance and multi drug resistance (90.90%) among the bacteria species. No Pan drug resistant (PDR) were observed in isolated bacterial strains of burn

Abstract

The growing ecological concerns related with synthetic termiticides have provoked the exploration of botanical substitutes for sustainable wood protection. This study evaluates the efficacy of Azadirachta indica (Neem) leaf extracts, prepared using three different solvents water, ethanol, and n-hexane against the subterranean termite Heterotermes indicola. Fresh Neem leaves were subjected to solvent based extraction and treated wood blocks were exposed to termite colonies for 60 days under controlled laboratory conditions. The extent of termite tempted damage was measured as the percentage weight loss of the wood, and statistical analyses were performed using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc mean comparisons to find significant differences among treatments. Results show a highly significant reduction in wood weight loss for all Neem extract treatments compared with untreated controls (p < 0.001). The ethanolic extract shown the greatest repellency, resulting in a mean weight loss of 6.83 ± 0.79 %, corresponding to a 75 % reduction relative to untreated samples. The n-hexane and aqueous extracts achieved reductions of 65.7 % and 48.6 %, respectively. Observational data confirmed noticeable termite avoidance of ethanolic treated wood, aligning with the quantitative outcomes. The enhanced performance of the ethanolic extract is accredited to ethanol’s intermediate polarity, which facilitates the extraction of both polar and nonpolar phytochemicals, particularly azadirachtin and nimbin responsible for termite deterrence. These findings underscore the potential of Neem leaf extracts, especially ethanolic preparations, as ecofriendly and sustainable substitutes to synthetic termiticides. The study provides valuable insight into solvent dependent extraction efficiency and offers a foundation for the development of natural, low toxicity wood preservatives suitable for integrated pest management strategies.

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