PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS C POSITIVITY AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECTS OF NEWBOULDIA LAEVIS (P. BEAUV)ON BACTERIAL ISOLATES FROM APPARENTLY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus(HCV)infection have remained recurring decimals in blood transfusion, vertical transmission, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Most of the published studies of the prevalence in Southern Nigeria are among HIV/AIDS patients. The need for such vital information among an apparently healthy population was the basis for this study. Rapid diagnostic tests were used to screen for anti-HCV antibodies among individuals attending State Specialist Hospital, Akure and Don Bosco Diagnostic Medical Center, Akure, Nigeria.Blood sampleswere cultured for bacteria isolates. These were subjected to antibiotics disk and multiple antibiotics resistance (MAR) pattern was determined. Plasmid profiling and curing was done to determine the genetic basis for resistance of the bacterial isolates.The methanol, chloroform and aqueous leaf extracts of Newbouldialaeviswere obtained using cold extraction method. Phytochemical screening (both qualitative and quantitative) of the extracts was investigated and the inhibitory activity of extracts against the isolates were assayed by agar well diffusiontechnique. The concentrations were varied from 100mg/ml to 400mg/ml and zones of inhibition at every concentration were recorded. Column chromatography analysis was carried out to purify the extractsand tested for antibacterial activity.Of the 871 individuals screened, 121 were positive for the virus giving an overall prevalence of 13.89% in the study area.The bacterial isolates includingStaphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiellapneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus pnuemoniae and Salmonella sp. were isolated fromHCV positive blood samples whileS. aureus, E.coli, P. aeruginosa, and Salmonella sp. were isolated from HCV negative blood samples and most of the isolates showed multiple antibiotics resistance (MAR). The plasmid analysis shows that all multiple resistant bacterial isolates harbour one or more plasmids with different molecular weights and plasmid curing converted all the isolates (MAR) which were initially resistant to the conventional antibiotics to susceptible form thereby indicating that, the resistance was plasmid mediated.The extracts revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, terpenes, alkanoids, phenolics, saponins, and cardiac glycosides with exception of chloroform extract that revealed the presence of alkanoids, saponins and tannins only. Antibacterial activity revealed that methanol extract had the highest potency with 23.03±0.33emm, followed by aqueous extract with 21.75±0.22d mm zones of inhibitionagainst S. aureus,and the chloroform extract had the highest activity of 16.0±0.59d mm zone of inhibition against Salmonella sp. while aqueous extract had the least zone of inhibition against P. mirabilis with 10.07±0.67ammfor HCV positive isolates.Methanol extract gave higher zone of inhibition of 23.60±0.21cmm against Salmonella sp. while chloroform showed least zone of inhibition with 14.13±0.19amm against P. aeruginosafor HCV negative isolates.All the extracts, irrespective of the extracting solvents had a minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) range of 6.25 – 50 mg/ml andminimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) range of 12.5 – 100 mg/ml.Findings from this research shows that N. laevishas high antibacterial potency against pathogens in blood even in comparison with some conventional antibiotics used.