ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: For the majority of people with acute sore throat, over-the-counter treatments represent the primary option for symptomatic relief. This study evaluated the in vitro bactericidal activity of lozenges containing the antiseptic hexylresorcinol against five bacteria associated with acute sore throat: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Moraxella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae and Fusobacterium necrophorum. RESULTS: Hexylresorcinol 2.4 mg lozenges were dissolved into 5 mL of artificial saliva medium. Inoculum cultures were prepared in triplicate for each test organism to give an approximate population of 108 colony-forming units (cfu)/mL. Bactericidal activity was measured by log reduction in cfu. Greater than 3log10 reductions in cfu were observed at 1 min after dissolved hexylresorcinol lozenges were added to S. aureus (log10 reduction cfu/mL ± standard deviation, 3.3 ± 0.2), M. catarrhalis (4.7 ± 0.4), H. influenzae (5.8 ± 0.4) and F. necrophorum (4.5 ± 0.2) and by 5 min for S. pyogenes (4.3 ± 0.4). Hexylresorcinol lozenges achieved a > 99.9% reduction in cfu against all tested organisms within 5 min, which is consistent with the duration for a lozenge to dissolve in the mouth. In conclusion, in vitro data indicate that hexylresorcinol lozenges offer rapid bactericidal activity against organisms implicated in acute sore throat.
Subject(s)
Bacterial Infections/drug therapy , Common Cold/drug therapy , Hexylresorcinol/therapeutic use , Oropharynx/drug effects , Administration, Oral , Anti-Infective Agents, Local/administration & dosage , Anti-Infective Agents, Local/therapeutic use , Bacterial Infections/microbiology , Bacterial Load/drug effects , Common Cold/microbiology , Fusobacterium necrophorum/drug effects , Fusobacterium necrophorum/physiology , Haemophilus influenzae/drug effects , Haemophilus influenzae/physiology , Hexylresorcinol/administration & dosage , Humans , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Moraxella catarrhalis/drug effects , Moraxella catarrhalis/physiology , Oropharynx/microbiology , Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects , Staphylococcus aureus/physiology , Streptococcus pyogenes/drug effects , Streptococcus pyogenes/physiology , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Potatoes produce a number of toxic secondary metabolites, which are divided into two groups: the sesquiterpenes and the glycoalkaloids (PGAs): whereas PGAs are largely preformed and present in toxic quantities in both the foliage and "green" potatoes, it is well documented that the levels of PGAs and sesquiterpenes are effected by many biotic an abiotic stresses. The development of genetically modified potato varieties has made it prudent to ascertain whether there may be changes in the amounts or types of these secondary metabolites either as a direct effect of the transgene or due to its interactions with environmental variables. Transgenic potato lines were exposed, along with nontransgenic lines, to a range of biotic and abiotic stresses and a range of environmental conditions in the field and store. Following stressing, a comparison was made of levels of potato glycoalkaloid and sesquiterpene levels between the two groups. Significant differences were observed in the levels of both glycoalkaloid and sesquiterpene levels between transgenic and control material and between infected and noninfected material.