“Effect of Berberis lycium flavonoids on colonization of Enterococcus faecalis in mice”

Abstract

Enterococcus faecalis is a highly opportunistic multidrug resistant and common nosocomial infection causing pathogen. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Berberis lycium flavonoids and its gold nanoparticles on the colonization of E. faecalis in Liver and Kidneys of infected mice. An efficient synthesis of stable flavonoids gold nanoparticles (FAuNPs) was manifested by using ethyl acetate fraction of Berberis lycium. Biologically synthesized FAuNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, EDAX and TEM. The potential of flavonoids and FAuNPs was investigated by in-vitro hemolytic activity before in-vivo testing. Characterization of FAuNPs revealed the average size of FAuNPs to be 23 nm. In vitro studies showed broad spectrum activity of flavonoids against various clinical pathogenic Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Hemolytic assay revealed biocompatibility and non-cytotoxicity of FAuNPs up to a concentration of 150μg/mL. FAuNPs were more potent with less effective dose (400μg/Kg) than isolated flavonoids (5mg/Kg), concluding that FAuNPs has remarkably increased the bio-efficacy, stability and bioavailability of flavonoids