TY - JOUR ID - TI - In vitro and In vivo antimicrobial effect of coconut oil against Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from wound infections AU - Najwan Sadeq Shareef AU - Raed Taha Yaseen Alneama AU - Lamyaa Kadhim Baqer PY - 2020 VL - 19 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 8 JO - Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Veterinary Medicine Sciences مجلة القادسية لعلوم الطب البيطري SN - 18185746 23134429 AB - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with a significant rate of skin and other systemic infections throughout the world in both humans and animals. This study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activity of commercial coconut oil against MRSA. Clinical isolates of MRSA were obtained from AL- sadder Teaching hospital /Basra / Iraq and were identified and confirmed by standard methods. The in vitro antibacterial activity of coconut oil was studied by the disc diffusion method which has shown strong suppressive activity on MRSA. Full strength coconut oil exhibited a better zone of inhibition around MRSA in comparison to diluted preparations. For in vivo activity, 24 adult rabbits were allocated to test MRSA-induced skin infection. Four sets of experimental animals each consisting of 6 rabbits were grouped. Multiple regions in each animal in all groups were inoculated with 0.1 ml of MSRA at a concentration of 1.5 x108 CFU/ml. Groups 1, 2, and 3 were additionally treated through injection in the areas of bacterial inoculation with coconut oil, vancomycin antibiotic, and normal saline respectively. Group 4 was left without any additional treatment. Viable bacterial count in the tested skin was measured on two occasions in all animals (24 and 48 hours from the experimental period). Compared to the first 24 hours, the results after 48 hours showed a significant reduction in the viable bacterial count following coconut and vancomycin treatment in comparison to those rabbits treated with normal saline or not treated at all (P-value < 0.05). Coconut oil treatment produced an 11/2 folds reduction in the viable bacterial count with mild visible skin reaction which was comparable to the effect of vancomycin. The current study concluded that the in vivo and in vitro results show that concentrated coconut oil is active against MRSA, making it a possible alternative to some of the antimicrobial agents to which these bacteria are resistant.

ER -