Polytechnic University Of The Philippines Sta. Mesa Manila College Of

Polytechnic University of the Philippines Sta. Mesa Manila College of Science Department of Natural Science Gesmundo,Gazelle Grace, Jusay,Jamila, Maladaga,Jobelle, Mallari. John Genricso, Platero,Emily, Regala, Christian Joy Abstract

Introduction: Antimicrobial An antimicrobial is a substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, or protozoans, as well as destroying viruses. Antimicrobial drugs either kill microbes (microbicidal) or prevent the growth of microbes (microbistatic). Disinfectants are antimicrobial substances used on non-living objects. The history of antimicrobials begins with the observations of Pasteur and Joubert, who discovered that one type of bacteria could prevent the growth of another. They did not know at that time that the reason one bacterium failed to grow was that the other bacterium was producing an antibiotic. Technically, antibiotics are only those substances that are produced by one microorganism that kill,

or prevent the growth, of another microorganism. Of course, in today's common usage, the term antibiotic is used to refer to almost any drug that cures a bacterial infection. Antimicrobials include not just antibiotics, but synthetically formed compounds as well. The discovery of antimicrobials like penicillin and tetracycline paved the way for better health for millions around the world. Before 1941, the year penicillin was discovered, no true cure for gonorrhea, strep throat, or pneumonia existed. Patients with infected wounds often had to have a wounded limb removed, or face death from infection. Now, most of these infections can be cured easily with a short course of antimicrobials. However, the future effectiveness of antimicrobial therapy is somewhat in doubt. Microorganisms, especially

bacteria, are becoming resistant to more and more antimicrobial agents. Bacteria found in hospitals appear to be especially resilient, and are causing increasing difficulty for the sickest patients–those in the hospital. Currently, bacterial resistance is combated by the discovery of new drugs. However, microorganisms are becoming resistant more quickly Duranta erecta Duranta erecta (variously known as Golden Dewdrop, Pigeon berry, Skyflower or Aussie Gold) is a shrub of the Verbenaceae family, commonly cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and semitropical gardens. Originally native to Central and South America and the Caribbean, it is widely naturalized throughout the tropics and has become an invasive species in Australia, China, South Africa and on several Pacific Islands. Golden Dewdrop is a sprawling shrub or (infrequently) a small tree. It can grow to 18 feet (5.5 m) tall and can spread to an equal width. Mature specimens possess axillary thorns, which are often absent on younger specimens. Leaves are light green, elliptic to ovate, opposite, and grow up to 3 inches (8 cm) long. Showy lightblue or lavender flowers are in tight clusters located on terminal and axillary stems, blooming almost all year long. The fruits are small yellow berries (from which the name is

than new drugs are being made available; thus, future research in antimicrobial therapy may focus on finding how to overcome resistance to antimicrobials, or how to treat infections with alternative means, such as species-specific phages.

derived), approximately one half inch (1 cm) in diameter. The leaves and berries of the plant are toxic, and are confirmed to have killed children, dogs and cats. However, songbirds eat the fruit without ill effects. Escherichia coli E. coli is a common type of bacteria that can get into food, like beef and vegetables. E. coli is short for the medical term Escherichia coli. The strange thing about these bacteria — and lots of other bacteria — is that they're not always harmful to you. E. coli normally lives inside your intestines, where it helps your body break down and digest the food you eat. Unfortunately, certain types (called strains) of E. coli can get from the intestines into the blood. This is a rare illness, but it can cause a very serious infection. Someone who has E. coli infection may have these symptoms:

* Bad stomach cramps and belly pain * vomiting * Diarrhea, sometimes with blood in it E. coli can be passed from person to person, but serious E. coli infection is more often linked to food containing the bacteria. The person eats the contaminated food and gets sick. Heat can kill E. coli, so experts recommend that people cook beef (especially ground beef) until it is cooked through and no longer pink. Choosing pasteurized juice is another way to avoid possible infection. Escherichia coli (commonly abbreviated E. coli; pronounced, is a Gram negative bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms). E. coli are not always confined to the intestine, and their ability to survive for brief periods outside the body makes them an ideal indicator organism to test environmental samples for fecal contamination. The bacteria can also be grown easily and its genetics are comparatively simple and easily-manipulated or duplicated through a process of metagenics, making it one of the best-studied prokaryotic model organisms, and an important species in biotechnology and microbiology. Bacillus subtilis Bacillus subtilis, known as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a Gram-positive,

catalase-positive bacterium commonly found in soil. A member of the genus Bacillus, B. subtilis is rod-shaped, and has the ability to form a tough, protective endospore, allowing the organism to tolerate extreme environmental conditions. B. subtilis is not considered a human pathogen; it may contaminate food but rarely causes food poisoning. B. subtilis produces the proteolytic enzyme subtilisin. B. subtilis spores can survive the extreme heating that is often used to cook food, and it is responsible for causing ropiness a sticky, stringy consistency caused by bacterial production of longchain polysaccharides in spoiled bread dough. The bacillus subtilis was discovered by the Nazi German medical corps in 1941, toward the end of their African campaign. At the time, the German military victory was at its height. But the German high command became genuinely alarmed when hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers in North Africa suddenly began dying every week. Oddly, the Nazi soldiers weren't dying because of British General Montgomery's retaliatory bombs and shrapnel, but instead, they were dying of uncontrollable dysentery. Bacillus subtilis remains one of the most potent and beneficial of all health-promoting and immune-stimulating bacteria. According to clinical studies documented in the medical research report,

IMMUNOSTIMULATION BY BACILLUS SUBTILIS PREPARATIONS, by microbiologist J. Harmann, the cell wall components of ingested Bacillus Subtilis are able to activate nearly all systems of the human immune defense, including the activation of at least three specific antibodies (IgM, IgG and IgA secretion) which are highly effective against many of the harmful viruses, fungi and bacterial pathogens which regularly attempt to invade and infect the human system. Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common bacterium which can cause disease in animals and humans. It is found in soil, water, skin flora and most manmade environments throughout the world. It thrives not only in normal atmospheres, but also with little oxygen, and has thus colonised many natural and artificial environments. It uses a wide range of organic material for food; in animals, the versatility enables the organism to infect damaged tissues or people with reduced immunity. The symptoms of such infections are generalised inflammation and sepsis. If such colonisations occur in critical body organs such as the lungs, the urinary tract, and kidneys, the results can be fatal. Because it thrives on most surfaces, this bacterium is also found on and in medical equipment including catheters, causing cross infections in hospitals and clinics. It is

implicated in hot-tub rash. P. aeruginosa secretes a variety of pigments, including pyocyanin (blue-green), fluorescein (yellow-green and fluorescent, now also known as pyoverdin), and pyorubin (red-brown). King, Ward, and Raney developed Pseudomonas Agar P (aka King A media) for enhancing pyocyanin and pyorubin production and Pseudomonas Agar F (aka King B media) for enhancing fluorescein production. P. aeruginosa is often preliminarily identified by its pearlescent appearance and grape-like or tortilla-like odour in vitro. Definitive clinical identification of P. aeruginosa often includes identifying the production of both pyocyanin and fluorescein, as well as its ability to grow at 42°C. P. aeruginosa is capable of growth in diesel and jet fuel, where it is known as a hydrocarbonutilizing microorganism (or "HUM bug"), causing microbial corrosion. It creates dark gellish mats sometimes improperly called "algae" because of their appearance. Although classified as an aerobic organism, P. aeruginosa is considered by many as a facultative anaerobe, as it is well adapted to proliferate in conditions of partial or total oxygen depletion. This organism can achieve anaerobic growth with nitrate as a terminal electron acceptor, and, in its absence, it is also able to ferment arginine by substrate-level phosphorylation. Adaptation to microaerobic or

anaerobic environments is essential for certain lifestyles of P. aeruginosa, for example, during lung infection in cystic fibrosis patients, where thick layers of alginate surrounding bacterial mucoid cells can limit the diffusion of oxygen. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is member of the Gamma Proteobacteria class of Bacteria. It is a Gram-negative, aerobic rod belonging to the bacterial family Pseudomonadaceae. Since the revisionist taxonomy based on conserved macromolecules (e.g. 16S ribosomal RNA) the family includes only members of the genus Pseudomonas which are cleaved into eight groups. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the type species of its group. which contains 12 other members. Like other members of the genus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a free-living bacterium, commonly found in soil and water. However, it occurs regularly on the surfaces of plants and occasionally on the surfaces of animals. Members of the genus are well known to plant microbiologists because they are one of the few groups of bacteria that are true pathogens of plants. In fact, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is occasionally a pathogen of plants. However, Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become increasingly recognized as an emerging opportunistic pathogen of clinical relevance. Several different epidemiological studies track its

occurrence as a nosocomial pathogen and indicate that antibiotic resistance is increasing in clinical isolates. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, meaning that it exploits some break in the host defenses to initiate an infection. In fact, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the epitome of an opportunistic pathogen of humans. The bacterium almost never infects uncompromised tissues, yet there is hardly any tissue that it cannot infect if the tissue defenses are compromised in some manner. It causes urinary tract infections, respiratory system infections, dermatitis, soft tissue infections, bacteremia, bone and joint infections, gastrointestinal infections and a variety of systemic infections, particularly in patients with severe burns and in cancer and AIDS patients who are immunosuppressed. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection is a serious problem in patients hospitalized with cancer, cystic fibrosis, and burns. The case fatality rate in these patients is near 50 percent. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is primarily a nosocomial pathogen. According to the CDC, the overall incidence of P. aeruginosa infections in U.S. hospitals averages about 0.4 percent (4 per 1000 discharges), and the bacterium is the fourth most commonly-isolated nosocomial pathogen

accounting for 10.1 percent of all hospital-acquired infections. The typical Pseudomonas bacterium in nature might be found in a biofilm, attached to some surface or substrate, or in a planktonic form, as a unicellular organism, actively swimming by means of its flagellum. Pseudomonas is one of the most vigorous, fastswimming bacteria seen in hay infusions and pond water samples. In its natural habitat Pseudomonas aeruginosa is not particularly distinctive as a pseudomonad, but it does have a combination of physiological traits that are noteworthy and may relate to its pathogenesis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa has very simple nutritional requirements. It is often observed "growing in distilled water", which is evidence of its minimal nutritional needs. In the laboratory, the simplest medium for growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa consists of acetate as a source of carbon and ammonium sulfate as a source of nitrogen. • P. aeruginosa possesses the metabolic versatility for which pseudomonads are so renowned. Organic growth factors are not required, and it can use more than seventy-five organic compounds for growth. • Its optimum temperature for growth is 37 degrees, and it is able to grow at temperatures as high as 42 degrees.

• It is tolerant to a wide variety of physical conditions, including temperature. It is resistant to high concentrations of salts and dyes, weak antiseptics, and many commonly used antibiotics. • Pseudomonas aeruginosa has a predilection for growth in moist environments, which is probably a reflection of its natural existence in soil and water. These natural properties of the bacterium undoubtedly contribute to its ecological success as an opportunistic pathogen. They also help explain the ubiquitous nature of the organism and its prominence as a nosocomial pathogen. P. aeruginosa isolates may produce three colony types. Natural isolates from soil or water typically produce a small, rough colony. Clinical samples, in general, yield one or another of two smooth colony types. One type has a fried-egg appearance which is large, smooth, with flat edges and an elevated appearance. Another type, frequently obtained from respiratory and urinary tract secretions, has a mucoid appearance, which is attributed to the production of alginate slime. The smooth and mucoid colonies are presumed to play a role in colonization and virulence. P. aeruginosa strains produce two types of soluble pigments, the fluorescent pigment pyoverdin and the blue pigment

pyocyanin. The latter is produced abundantly in media of low-iron content and functions in iron metabolism in the bacterium. Pyocyanin (from "pyocyaneus") refers to "blue pus", which is a characteristic of suppurative infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Candida albicans Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus, i.e. it can take two forms. Most of the time it exists as oval, single yeast cells, which reproduce by budding. Most yeasts do not produce mycelia (a mass of branching, threadlike hyphal filaments), but Candida has a trick up its sleeve. Normal room temperatures favour the yeast form of the organism, but under physiological conditions (body temperature, pH, and the presence of serum) it may develop into a hyphal form. Pseudohyphae, composed of chains of cells, are also common. There are many species of the genus Candida which cause the disease known as candidiasis or "thrush". Candida is a commensal organism found in 40-80% of normal humans, and is present in the mouth, gut, and vagina. Problems start when a person experiences some alteration in: * Cellular immunity: e.g. immunosuppression or AIDS * Normal body flora: e.g. loss of normal bacterial flora due to antibiotic or steroid therapy

* Normal physiology: e.g. cardiac surgery or indwelling catheters Candida albicansAlthough Candida most frequently infects the skin and mucosal surfaces, it can cause systemic infections manifesting as pneumonia, septicaemia or endocarditis in severely immunocompromised patients. There does not appear to be significant difference in pathogenic potential of different Candida strains, therefore establishment of infection appears to be determined by host factors and not the organism itself. However, the ability to assume various forms may be related to the pathogenicity of the organism. The yeast form is 10-12 µm in diameter. Pseudohyphae (chains of cells) may be formed from budding yeast cells which remain attached to each other. Chlamydospores may be formed on the pseudomycelium. Fortunately, several drugs are available to treat serious systemic infections, e.g. itraconazole and fluconazole. Candida albicans is a diploid fungus (a form of yeast) and a causal agent of opportunistic oral and genital infections in humans. Systemic fungal infections (fungemias) have emerged as important causes of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients (e.g., AIDS, cancer chemotherapy, organ or bone marrow transplantation). In

addition, hospital-related infections in patients not previously considered at risk (e.g., patients in an intensive care unit) have become a cause of major health concern. C. albicans is commensal and is among the gut flora, the many organisms which live in the human mouth and gastrointestinal tract. Under normal circumstances, C. albicans lives in 80% of the human population with no harmful effects, although overgrowth results in candidiasis. Candidiasis is often observed in immunocompromised individuals such as HIV-positive patients. Candidiasis also may occur in the blood and in the genital tract. Candidiasis, also known as "thrush", is a common condition which is usually easily cured in people who are not immunocompromised. To infect host tissue, the usual unicellular yeast-like form of C. albicans reacts to environmental cues and switches into an invasive, multicellular filamentous forms. Definition of Candida Albicans Candida albicans (sometimes referred to as monilia) is a fungus that is normally present on the skin and in mucous membranes such as the vagina, mouth, or rectum. The fungus also can travel through the blood stream and affect the throat, intestines, and heart valves. Description of Candida Albicans

Candida albicans becomes an infectious agent when there is some change in the body environment that allows it to grow out of control.

Objectives: Materials: Methodology: Result and Discussion: Conclusion: Recommendation: References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dura nta http://zipcodezoo.com/Plants/D/ Duranta_erecta/ http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_he althy/food/ecoli.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esch erichia_coli http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseu domonas_aeruginosa http://www.textbookofbacteriolo gy.net/pseudomonas.html http://www.microbiologybytes.c om/video/Candida.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can dida_albicans http://www.healthscout.com/enc y/68/312/main.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti microbial