Antimicrobial activities of Agave fructans against multi-resistant and biofilm-producing Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Agave fructans (AF), a type of prebiotic, on multi-resistant and biofilm-forming isolates ofS. aureus. Ten isolates ofS. aureus from bovine subclinical mastitis previously characterized as highly resistant to antimicrobials and biofilm formers were used in this study. The growth kinetics ofS. aureus in the presence of AF was evaluated by the Baranyi and Roberts microbial growth model using the DMFit program. The antibacterial activity of AF againstS. aureus was studied by the well-diffusion method and the effect on biofilm formation by the crystal violet method. All assays were performed in triplicate for each isolate and an ANOVA with Tukey ’s post hoc was performed consideringp <  0.05 as significant. The AF showed a decrease in maximum growth rate (µmax) and OD max levels (Ymax) in all isolates with all concentrations. Also, zones of inhibition were observed due to the effect of all AF concentrations in all isolates in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly,S. aureus biofilm formation was inhibited by all AF concentrations assessed in this study. More investigations are required to elucidate the mechanisms of action of AF onS. aureus as well as in vivo studies to evaluate its therapeutic efficacy for bovine mastitis.
Source: Veterinary Research Communications - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research