Cuban Oregano and Asthma Weed Against Salmonella typhi Proliferation

With the rise of Typhoid Fever cases and the threats posed by antibiotic resistance, ethanolic extracts of Cuban Oregano (Coleus amboinicus) and Asthma Weed (Euphorbia hirta) could be a potential source of ingredients for potent antibiotics.

Carl Patrick D. Tizon, Student, Negros Occidental National Science High School

The rise of Salmonella typhi infections such as Typhoid fever has plagued developing nations for years worldwide. The evolution of bacteria, as well as the misuse of antibiotics, have also led to the rise in the resistance of

bacteria to the drug. Quorum Sensing is the ability of the bacteria to evolve in certain conditions to survive and proliferate, leading to biofilm formation. 

In 2019, an estimated 1.27 million people died due to antibiotic-resistant bacterial illnesses worldwide. Moreover, over 9 million cases of typhoid fever were reported with over 110,000 fatalities. Most of these cases are common in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. In the Philippines, Typhoid fever cases increased by 162% between 2021 and 2022. 

Moreover, recent studies have shown that Salmonella typhi showed decreased susceptibility to antibiotics. The pathogen has slowly developed resistance to Ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic used to treat S. typhi infections such as Typhoid fever. 

Our proposed solution will help the Pharmaceutical sector as this will give them data that can stand as further information for research and development of potent drugs against bacterial infections without the risk of resistance. Additionally, this study also promulgates the utilization of herbal plants such as Cuban Oregano (Coleus amboinicus) and Asthma Weed (Euphorbia hirta) which urges the different Plant Industries to research more medicinal plants and the potential properties they possess. Since antibiotic resistance is widespread and affects everyone, this could also stand as a platform so that the government would be aware and help the medicinal sector, and to also remind the public of the threats posed by the said problem to the health industry and help them formulate preventive measures against antibiotic resistance. Lastly, for future researchers, this study would be a useful reference for them in validating related findings or conducting new researches.

Our proposed solution not only provides more data about the potential of herbal plants such as Cuban Oregano and Asthma Weed as components of antibiotics but also stands as a platform that antimicrobial resistance is one of the medical field's perilous problems. We are also planning on uploading our research paper to be peer-reviewed and publicize our study so the general public may be more aware of the perils of antibiotic resistance.

Despite being in the proof of concept stage, our research will help pharmaceutical companies in developing potent antibiotics by providing data and harnessing the potential of herbal plants to develop potent antibiotics after thorough studies and rigorous tests. We strongly urge the pharmaceutical industries to use research like ours as basis for scientific investigations; identifying plants with antimicrobial properties through screening, analysis of their chemical constituents, and testing it on pathogens like Salmonella typhi. This also would impact the plant industry as this would urge them to explore other herbal plants and their potential for medicinal use. Overall, our solution is a one-step progress towards ending antimicrobial resistance.

Since our proposed solution is currently in the proof of concept stage, our target audience would be the pharmaceutical industry, the plant industry, the government, and the general public. If given the chance to present our solution to them, we would highlight our study's results. This would urge the pharmaceutical industry to study Cuban Oregano and Asthma Weed thoroughly and run several tests and trials to determine its potency as an antimicrobial component. As for the plant industry, this would push them to explore more herbal plants and their potential, further utilizing nature's gifts for good. The government on the other hand might help us put into real-life our solution by providing assistance and helping us promote it to pharmaceutical companies. Lastly, for the general public to realize that antimicrobial resistance is inevitable and for them to formulate preventive measures to mitigate the silent pandemic since we will be using MIT-Solve as a platform to spread awareness about this issue.

We conducted our study in a biosafety level 2 laboratory and we used two assays: the Microtiter Plate Assay and Efficacy Testing. 

In the Microtiter Plate Assay, Salmonella typhi biofilm formation was inhibited by E. hirta and C. amboinicus  leaves ethanolic extracts. With means of 1.678, 1.981, 1.979, and 1.89 for each dilution of E. hirta, 1.7917, 1.286, 1.816, and 1.803 for each dilution of C. amboinicus leaves, and 1.699, 1.367, 1.873, and 1.763 for each dilution of the combined extracts. However, no significant difference exists between these experiment groups when compared with significant differences of 0.066 for E. hirta and C. amboinicus, 0.070 for E. hirta and the combination of both plant extracts, and 1 for C. amboinicus and a combination of both plant extracts, which is higher than the alpha value of 0.05.

The efficacy testing on the other hand, the extracts exhibited excellent results with 99.49% for E. hirta, 99.26% for C. amboinicus, and 99.72% for the

combination of both. This indicates that the extracts are effective at inhibiting quorum sensing by reducing the bacterial count of Salmonella typhi.

The existing barriers that limit our impact are the lack of financial, legal, and institutional support. Lack of financial support since we want to further develop our study and uncover more details that underlie our independent variables. Specifically, the phytochemical screening of the combination of both Cuban Oregano and Asthma Weed to further support the data obtained in our study. Lack of legal support because most governments do not prioritize research and development and lacks budget. And lack of institutional support since most pharmaceutical companies spend more money and prioritize marketing over research and development of potent medications.

The only resource we have is our vision and we will use this in MIT-Solve to spread awareness and promote the utilization of herbal plants such as Cuban Oregano and Asthma Weed as components of potent antimicrobials.

We applied to the Trinity Challenge to help us publicize our study, attract pharmaceutical companies, develop potent antibiotics, and end the resistance to the drug. Since we lack financial support, we would use the cash prize to further our study and contribute more details for future researchers. This challenge also serves as a platform for us to ask for government support in promoting the utilization of herbal plants in the medical field. With the platform given to us, we would also convince the pharmaceutical industry to consider studies like ours involving the antimicrobial potential of herbal plants and the plant industry to explore more herbal plants and their potential. This also goes the same for the general public to help them prevent antimicrobial resistance and give importance to herbal plants.

We would like to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies to study the feasibility of producing herbal plant-based antibiotics such as Cuban Oregano and Asthma Weed, and we would also like to collaborate with different plant industries to explore more herbal plants and their potential for medical use.