ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITION AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF POMEGRANATE (PUNICA GRANATUM) FRUIT EXTRACT AGAINST GRAM-NEGATIVE MULTI-DRUG RESISTANT BACTERIA FROM CLINICAL ISOLATES

Abstract

The basic therapy against microbial infections is application antibiotics. However, overuse of antibiotics has become the major factor for the emergence and dissemination of multi-drug resistant strains. The purpose of our work was to study the phytochemical composition of a thick extract of pomegranate fruits, as well as to investigate in vitro and in silico antimicrobial activity against clinical multidrug-resistant strains of A. baumani, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia and E. cloacae. The quantification of biologically active substances (BAS) was accomplished with spectrophotometric, titrimetric and HPLC methods of analysis; antimicrobial effects were evaluated by the well method and minimum inhibition concentration. The total content of phenolic compounds was 0.40 and 10.10%, organic acids – 5.80 and 1.60% for pomegranate fruit thick and green tea leaf extract. The total content of anthocyanins in the pomegranate fruit thick extract was 1071.0 mg/kg, where cyanidin-3-O-glucoside was dominated (417.4±8.4 mg/kg). Theoretical studies have found that neither single antibiotic nor anthocyanins highly effectively inhibits all antimicrobial mechanisms of resistant gram-negative bacteria. Thick pomegranate fruit extract actively inhibits all resistant strains of A. baumannii, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa, and E. cloacae. These findings have shown that to inhibit resistant strains of bacteria, you need to use only a complex drug or jointly apply dietary supplements of pomegranate, and in turn, herbal medicines are a “lifeline” for their creation and there is a chance to return old antimicrobial drugs in life.