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In vitro antibacterial activity of whole body extracts from bacteria-pretreated Lucilia cuprina maggots

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International Journal of Tropical Insect Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Maggot debridement therapy is an alternative method for treating of infected wounds in both human and veterinary medicine. Sterile larvae, such as from Lucilia cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae), stimulate wound healing through debridement of necrotic tissue and disinfection. Hence, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity from bacteria-pretreated L. cuprina maggot extracts against the most commonly isolated Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria from wounds. In short, whole-body extracts were collected after the sterile larvae were incubated for 24 h with a bacterial suspension of Staphylococcus aureus (Bacillales: Staphylococcaceae), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pseudomonadales: Pseudomonadaceae) or Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Larvae were cut into multiple pieces in a microtube containing sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), centrifuged, and the supernatant was filtered and used to test antibacterial activities. A Colony-Forming Unit assay was performed at two incubation times (0 and 6 h) with pre-treated and non-treated (PBS) larval extracts groups, compared to a bacteria growth control group. The results showed effective activity against P. aeruginosa, a slight decrease in bacteria growth for S. aureus, and no significant differences for MRSA. With higher antibacterial activity for P. aeruginosa, L. cuprina may represent a powerful tool to the clinical approach of gram-negative wound healing.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Laboratório de Bacteriologia (LABAC) and for the financial support of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós Graduação em Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil

    Janaína Brand Dillmann, Thaísa Regina Rocha Lopes & Antônio Francisco Igor Magalhães de Matos

  2. Setor de Virologia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil

    Thaísa Regina Rocha Lopes

  3. Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva do Centro de Ciências Rurais, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil

    Adriana Righi de Vasconcelos & Juliana Felipetto Cargnelutti

  4. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria – UFSM, Av. Roraima, 1000 - Camobi, Santa Maria, RS, 97105-900, Brasil

    Janaína Brand Dillmann & Silvia Gonzalez Monteiro

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  1. Janaína Brand Dillmann
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  2. Thaísa Regina Rocha Lopes
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  3. Adriana Righi de Vasconcelos
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  4. Antônio Francisco Igor Magalhães de Matos
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  6. Silvia Gonzalez Monteiro
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by JBD, TRRL, ARV, AFIMM. The first draft of the manuscript was written by JBD, and all authors critically revised all versions of the manuscript. Resources and supervision were provided by SGM and JFC.

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Correspondence to Janaína Brand Dillmann.

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All authors consented for publication and approved the final manuscript.

Ethical approval

The protocols used in this study were reviewed and approved by the Ethic Committee on Animal Use of the Federal University of Santa Maria (CEUA/UFSM) (CEUA Nº: 5,414,110,220).

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Dillmann, J.B., Lopes, T.R.R., de Vasconcelos, A.R. et al. In vitro antibacterial activity of whole body extracts from bacteria-pretreated Lucilia cuprina maggots. Int J Trop Insect Sci 44, 71–77 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-01136-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-01136-x

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