• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.15-26
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• 2013

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate antimicrobial activity of Huanggeumjakyak- tang water extract against MRSA. Methods The antibacterial activities of Huanggeumjakyak-tang were evaluated against 3 strains of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 1 standard Methicillinsusceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strain by using the disc diffusion method, minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) assay, colorimetric assay using MTT test, checkerboard dilution test and time-kill assay was performed under dark. Results The MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) of Huanggeumjakyak-tang water extract against S. aureus strains ranged from 1,000 to $2,000{\mu}g/ml$. So we confirmed that it has a strong antibacterial effect. Also the combinations of Huanggeumjakyak-tang water extract and conventional antibiotics exhibited improved inhibition of MRSA with synergy effect. Conclusions The results obtained in this study suggest that Huanggeumjakyak-tang water extract showed antibacterial effect against MRSA, and it also showed reducing effect on the side-effect problems that are the major weak points of traditional antibiotics.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2017

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a common gram-positive bacterium that causes serious infections in humans and animals. With the continuous emergence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains, antibiotics have limited efficacy in treating MRSA infections. Accordingly, novel agents that act on new targets are desperately needed to combat these infections. S. aureus alpha-hemolysin plays an indispensable role in its pathogenicity. In this study, we demonstrate that sclareol, a fragrant chemical compound found in clary sage, can prominently decrease alpha-hemolysin secretion in S. aureus strain USA300 at sub-inhibitory concentrations. Hemolysis assays, western-blotting, and RT-PCR were used to detect the production of alpha-hemolysin in the culture supernatant. When USA300 was co-cultured with A549 epithelial cells, sclareol could protect the A549 cells at a final concentration of $8{\mu}g/ml$. The protective capability of sclareol against the USA300-mediated injury of A549 cells was further shown by cytotoxicity assays and live/dead analysis. In conclusion, sclareol was shown to inhibit the production of S. aureus alpha-hemolysin. Sclareol has potential for development as a new agent to treat S. aureus infections.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.52-59
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• 1996

The in vitro activity of LB20304 was evaluated against clinical isolates and compared with those of Q-35, ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin, lomefloxacin and ofloxacin. LB20304 demonstrated 16-to 64-fold more potent activity than ciprofloxacin against gram-positive bacteria. LB20304 inhibited 90% of the isolates of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus(MSSA) at a concentration of $0.016\mug/ml\; (MIC_{90}). MIC_{90}$ values of LB20304 against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus epidermidis (MSSE), methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) and Streptococcus pneumoniae were $2\mug/ml,\; 0.016\mug/ml,\; 0.5\mug/ml \;and\; 0.031\mug/ml,$ respectively. LB20304 was also very active against gram-negative bacteria. Against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, $MIC_{90}s of\; LB20304 were\; 0.031\mug/ml,\; 0.25\mug/ml,\; 2\mug/ml,\; 8\mug/ml\; and\; 0.5\mug/ml$, respectively. Its activity was comparable to that of ciprofloxacin but much better than those of Q-35, sparfloxacin, ofloxacin and lomefloxacin. LB20304 also exhibited the most potent acitvity among quinolones tested against laboratory standard strains, ofloxacin-resistant strains, .betha.-lactamase-producing strains and anaerobic strains. The inhibitory effect$ (IC_{50)$ of LB20304 on DNA gyrase from Micrococcus luteus, determined by the supercoiling assay, was 8-fold more potent than that of ciprofloxacin. LB20304 did not induce topoisomerase-associated DNA cleavage even at a concentration of 10 mg/ml, although ciprofloxacin induced DNA cleavage at a concentration of 1 mg/ml.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.98-104
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• 2023

Effective and alternative strategies to control methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are consistently needed. Previous study presented that 7,10-epoxy-octadeca-7,9-dienoic acid (EODA) was produced from 7,10-dihydroxy-8(E)-octadecenoic acid through one-step heat treatment. Further studies confirmed that EODA was highly active against broad range of pathogenic bacteria including MRSA, promising development of a novel antibacterial agent to control MRSA. However, there are some practical huddles for industrialization of EODA, especially high cost for fine purification. To address this problem, this study was focused on determination of any changes in the antibacterial activities of EODA when used as a crude extract. As a result, any significant changes in the antibacterial activities of EODA was not detected and additional synergistic effect for commercial antibiotics on antibacterial activity was sustained as it was.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 1993

Nasal carrige of Staphylococcus was studied in relation to its significance as a source of the Staphylococci that caused hospital-acquired infection. Due to the trend of the increasing r esistance of S. aureus to many antimicrobial agents, it is necessary to study the sensitivity to antibiotics of this infectious microorganisms. 50 persons from general hospital and 50 college students were the object of this study. The following results were obtained 3 0 Strains of S. aureus were isolated. The rate of S. aureus nasal carrying were 26% in college students and 34% in hospital personnel. S. aureus which showed resistance to penicillin were 90%, tetracyclin 43%, erythromycin 37% and oxacillin 17%. The number of penicillin resistance of S. aureus were 11 (84%) in college students and 16 (94%) in hospital personnel. The number of strains of penicillin resistant S. aureus which produced 13-1actamase were 9 (82%) in college student and 14 (88%) in hospital personnel. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) which showed resistance to erythromycin and penicillin G were 100%, tetracyline, cephalothin and clindamycin were over 40% respectively, gentamicin 20%, SAM 20% and chloramphenicol 0%.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.336-343
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• 2006

We compared the antimicrobial resistance and clonal relationships among the community-acquired (CA) and hospital-acquired (HA) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains that were isolated from blood cultures in a university hospital over a 4-year period. A total of 131 MRSA isolates, including 28 CA-MRSA and 103 HA-MRSA strains, were identified; antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicated that the CA-MRSA isolates were more susceptible to erythromycin (21 % vs 6% ; P=0.02), clindamycin (46% vs 12%; P<0.01), ciprofloxacin (43% vs 11%; P<0.01), and gentamicin (43% vs 6%; P<0.01) than were the HA-MRSA isolates. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing and antimicrobial resistance profiles separated the 20 CA-MRSA isolates into 14 and 10 different patterns, respectively, and the 53 HA-MRSA isolates were separated into 24 and 7 different patterns, respectively. Twenty-one (40%) of the 53 HA-MRSA isolates belonged to two predominant PFGE types, and most of them showed multi-drug resistant patterns. Four (20%) of the 20 CA-MRSA and 10 (19%) of the 53 HA-MRSA isolates fell into two common PFGE patterns, and each of them showed the same multi-drug resistant pattern. This study suggests that, although the CA-MRSA blood isolates showed diverse PFGE and antimicrobial resistance patterns, some of these isolates may have originated from the HA-MRSA strains.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.673-676
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• 2007

A two-step triplex PCR assay targeting the mecA, femA, and nuc genes was developed for the detection of methicillin resistance genes harbored by some Staphylococcus aureus isolates and for the simultaneous identification of such isolates at the species level. The triplex PCR revealed the presence of the femA and nuc genes in all the S. aureus isolates examined (n=105). Forty-four clinical isolates were mecA positive and no foodborne isolates were mecA positive. The PCR results had a 98 or 99% correlation with the results of PBP2a latex agglutination tests or oxacillin susceptibility tests, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.391-399
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• 2011

Free fatty acids (FFAs) are known to have bacteriocidal activity and are important components of the innate immune system. Many FFAs are naturally present in human and animal skin, breast milk, and in the bloodstream. Here, the therapeutic potential of FFAs against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is demonstrated in cultures and in mice. Among a series of FFAs, only oleic acid (OA) (C18:1, cis-9) can effectively eliminate Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) through cell wall disruption. Lauric acid (LA, C12:0) and palmitic acid (PA, C16:0) do not have this ability. OA can inhibit growth of a number of Gram-positive bacteria, including hospital and community-associated MRSA at a dose that did not show any toxicity to human sebocytes. The bacteriocidal activities of FFAs were also demonstrated in vivo through injection of OA into mouse skin lesions previously infected with a strain of MRSA. In conclusion, our results suggest a promising therapeutic approach against MRSA through boosting the bacteriocidal activities of native FFAs, which may have been co-evolved during the interactions between microbes and their hosts.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.175-180
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• 2017

The objectives of this study were: i) to detect the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in raw milk, cheese, beef minced meat, and chicken meat samples; ii) to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates; and iii) to determine clonal relation among the isolates by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method. Therefore, a total of 160 food samples were randomly collected between August 2014 and May 2015 in Hatay province, located in the southern Turkey. Twenty (12.5%) of the samples were found to be contaminated with S. aureus. A total of 40 isolates from the 20 positive samples were confirmed to be S. aureus by multiplex PCR based on 16S rRNA and nuc gene. The mec A gene was not detected in any of the S. aureus strains. In the present study, 39 out of 40 (97.5%) isolates were found to be resistant to one or more antibiotics. All of isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, oxacillin, and vancomycin. The highest resistance rate was detected in penicillin (95%) and ampicillin (92.5%), followed by tetracycline (30%), erythromycin (20%), ciprofloxacin (12.5%). Nine major patterns were determined by PFGE. In 6 of these patterns, thirty-six strains (90%) had identical PFGE profiles.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.24-34
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• 2001

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was obtained from the clinical specimens at Pusan national university Hospital, Pusan, Korea. The sensitivities against various antibiotics were examined by using disc diffusion test and associated genes such as mecA, mecR1, mecI and femA were detected by polymerase chain reaction. Among Seventy-nine strains of MRSA, 38 strains(48.1%)were sensitive to streptomycin and 32 strains(40.5%) to cefoperazone, while one strain(1.3%) were resistant to vancomycin. In considering the result of this study, 7 strains showed resistance to 9 kinds of different antibiotics, 12 strains were to 8 kinds, 24 strains were to 7,25 strains were to 6, 9 strains were to 5, and 2 strains were to 4 antibiotics. Among 79 strains of MRSA, 67 strains were coagulase positive and 12 were coagulase negative. In the detection of MRSA associated genes by PCR method, mecA, mecR1, mecI, and femA genes were detected in 30 strains(44.8%), 28 strains(41.8%), 23 strains(34.3%) and 15 strains(22.4%), respectively. MecA type that is without femA were found in 21 strains(31.3%), femA type that is without regulator genes were shown in 4 strains(6.0%), while mecA-mecR1-mecI type with regulator genes were shown more to be 17 strains(25.4%). There was little statistical significance between multidrug resistance and MRSA associated genes. Considering these result, it is necessary to include moecular biological studies of related genes to the study drug resistance.