Sore throat or pharyngitis in childrenis mainly caused by group A (β-hemolytic) Streptococcus pyogenes. The bacterium transferred from infected person to susceptible one through coughing, sneezing and by direct contact. Irrational use of antibiotics to control sore throat infection results in development of antibiotics resistance. To overcome the problem of antibiotic resistance, various herbal extracts(Liquorice, ginger, cinnamon and red dates)are used which have known antimicrobial activity against these bacterial isolates.
In current study 70 throat swab samples were collected from Children Hospital, Lahore and processed to isolate and identify antibiotic resistant sore throat bacteria by swabbing on blood agar andTryptic soya agar.Initial identification was done using conventional biochemical tests and confirmation was done through API 20 Strep. Antibiotic resistance pattern in isolated bacteria was done by modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusionas per CLSI,2014 criteria.Extracts (Ethanolic, boiling and distilled water) of herbs (Liquorice, ginger, cinnamon, red dates and kalonji) was obtained and tested for antimicrobial activity against resistant isolates. Efficacy of the herbal extracts was evaluated through Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentrations. Ethanolic extracts of Liquorice, ginger, cinnamon and red dates have good antimicrobial activity against resistant sore throat bacterial isolates than boiling and distilled water extracts.
The present study demonstrated that S. pyogenes and Staphylococcus are major bacteria responsible for sore throat infection in children. These isolates have variety of different antibiotic resistance patterns. In order to minimize emergence of antibiotic resistant isolates, herbal extracts can be used.Ethanolic extracts of liquorice, ginger, cinnamon, red dates have good antibacterial activity as compared to kalonji. Statistical analysis showed that ethanolic extracts of Liquorice has a significant activity with ginger, cinnamon and red dates.The degree of antibacterial activity of plant extracts testedcan be graded in the following order: Liquorice> ginger>Cinnamon>red dates>kalonji. Itis estimated that by using natural products will reduce the resistance in microorganism.
Statistical analysis:
The data collected in MS Excel 2016 and analyzed statistically by one way Analysis of Variance using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 18.0 software.