Antimicrobial Activity of Siddha Formulations against Uropathogens

Abstract

Urinary tract infections (UTI) is one of the most prevalent health problem caused by a number of pathogens such as E.coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, Proteus mirabilis, and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. It occurs when the bacteria infects the urinary tract or parts of the urinary tract which may even lead to urinary bladder infections as a complication. Its predisposing factors are pregnancy, previous UTI infections, age, sexual activity, poor hygiene and so on. There is a high incidence of these Urinary Tract Infections irrespective of the socio-economic groups and eventually has augmented the economic burden in families. It is one of the commonly occurring healthcare associated infections and it has been estimated that nearly 13,000 deaths are associated with UTI. Besides, there are many antibiotics prescribed for the treatment of UTI but the cause for concern is the emergence of drug resistant strains. These drug resistant strains continue to threaten our ability to treat even common illnesses. Hence, an alternative system of medicine is an essential need at the current day global scenario. Siddha, one of the ancient systems of Indian Traditional Medicine (ITM) consists of varied number of medicines for treating UTI. Siddha formulations that are chosen for the current study are Nandukkal Parpam, Karkaraichi mathirai, Rasagandi Mezhugu, Neermulli Kudineer chooranam and Sirupeelai Kudineer chooranam. Antimicrobial sensitivity test was performed using Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method and the results showed that among all the 5 formulations tested, 3 of them showed significant antimicrobial activity against all the 5 tested pathogens. Others showed considerable activity against Pseudomonas, Staphylococci and S.typhi. Hence, this study suggests a rationale in choosing siddha formulations for UTI infections.