ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF SWEET ORANGE (CITRUS SINENSIS) ON STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS AND ESCHERICHIA COLI ISOLATED FROM WOUND INFECTED

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Sweet orange is a strum belonging to the plant family ruracea with a botanical name citrus simrnsia. They are berries but because or their unusual structure, they are called fresperidiums. Sweet oranges originates in southern China thousands of yeast’s ago. Now they are most popular and wide spread of the citrus fruits. Citrus saneness (sweet oranges) can be grown is most parts of the tropics where than five months and where there is fairly even distribution of  rainfall  throughout the year. The  trees can be grown from seed but its more usual to buy  budded citrus sincensis from private nursery men or form official Agricultural sources. Citrus saneness  is a spreading  ever  green, some time spiny trees up to  12m  fall with ovale elliptic leaves which are commonly 7-10cm long dark green and routed at the base. They are carried on short articulated petioles with very narrow wins. The leaves are strongly scented the white sweet smelling flowers are  smaller than those of the group. The rounded fruits are up to 12cm in diameter. Deep yellow to orange or in humict climate remaining green when ripe. Sweet oranges (citrus saneness) are trotrical crops. They are also annual crops (Cobley 1976)

In a typical sweet orange, the excerpt and mesa carp are leathery and protect the juicy inner tissue deceived from the endocarp from damage and desiccation. The epidermis of the fruit has a thick cuticle and varying number of stomata, the excerpt or flavedo is a layer of irregular photosynthctically active parenchyma cells which is green in young fruit and becoming orange or greenish when they nature. The mesocarp is thicker than the exocarp and consists of inter cellular space. The mesocarp is know as the albedo. It is rich in vitamin C sugar cellulose and in pectin. The mesocarp and excarp together form the bird  of the fruit. The center of the fruit is occupied by the development  carpels of the ovary which are disposed around the pithy axis in form of several closely packed segments. Each segment develops from a single carpal and is surrounded by thin, transparent endocarp or “ray” form which multi-cellular hairs grow to fill each segment. Each huge cell or pulp vesicle of these hairs fills with juice and they form the edible part of the fruit for which the crops are grown. The  seed lies on axle placenta close to the central axis and in the nature fruit is about 40- 45 percent juice 30 percent rind and 30 percent pulp and seeds which taken together consists of about  90 percent water 5-10 percent sugar 1-2  percent petunias various acids, essential oil proteins and minerals.

Generally the fruit contains 80-90 percent of sugar and acids with relative proportion  varying between other species of citrus. Citric acid  is the abundant acid in the sap. Pectin in the juice gives it a  cloudy colloidal  appearance. Cilrus nsinensis contain mineral salts,  glycosides, small amount of protein and vitamin (cobley 1976) it is a good source of cirus are citrus paradisc (grape fruit) citrus limon (lemon) citrus  aurantatifolia (lime) citrus aurantinum (sour orange) citrus reticulate  (tangermie and maudanine) citrus grandis (pummelo) and citrus medical (citron) The sugar and acids vary between species.

The medical potency of sweet orange (citrus smeasin) is due to its high content in vitamin  C which is believed to stimulated the production of white blood cells, primarily neutrophib, which attack foreign antigens such as bacteria and viruses.  It also boost the body’s production of antibodies and interferon, the protein that helps protect us from viral invaders and cancer cells. (Uddoh, 1998).  The importance of vitamin C from citrus fruits in prevention of scurvy was scientifically proven in 1756 by John Lind (Rudolph et al 1978)

          The skin is normally an effective barrier to pathogens, but skin may be broken example by wounding, surgery or the “bites” of insects etc.  Wounds may admit any of the variety of potential pathogens capable of causing systemic disease (disease affecting the entire body) or localized disease.  Bacterial pathogens can enter via “bites” (singleton 1995).  Marmoin et al (1973) state that there are many organisms associated with wound  infections, which are, propionibacterium, Klebsiella, staphylococcus, Escherichia coli etc. superficial infection are skin pustutes, boils, carbunictes, impetize, penphigus, neonatorum, sycosis barbae, paronychia styles, blepheritis and conjunctivitis” infections of accidental and surgical wounds.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

          Most wound infections are infected by staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and other micro organisms (Bhata et al 1998) vitamin C is said to play important role in protection agaisnt bacterial and viral infection (Okaka et al 2002).  The uptake of orange juice which is rich in vitamin C stimulates the production of white blood cells premarily neutrophils which fight agiasnt bacteria and virus and speeds the healing of wound (Rudolph et al 1978).

          It is therefore necessary to carryoput a research work to determine the antibacteria activity of sweet orange on S. aureus and E. coli involved in wound infections

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE

1.                 To determine the antibacterial effect of orange juice (citurs sinensis) on staphylococcus aureus and escherichia coli isolated from wound infection.

2.                 To determine the antimicrotial sensistivity pattern of isolated involved

HYPOTEHSES

HO    -        Orange (citrus sinensis) has antibacterial effect on S. aureus and E. Coli isolated from wound infection.

Hi      -        Orange (citrus sinensis) has no anti bacterial effect on S. aureues and E.Coli isolated from wound infection.

HII    -        Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli are associated with wound infections

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

          The work is limited to the antibacterial effect of sweet orange (citrus sinensis) to staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

SIGNIFICANCE OF HTESTUDY

          The result of this study will determine the antibacteiral activity of citrus sinensis to S. aureus and E.Coli involved in wound infection.  And if the results are favourable then consumption of sweet orange will be advocated, which is safer than consumption of medical drugs which often have side effect to the individuals taking them, As a preventive therapy (since it raises the immune system of the individuals involves).  It is naturally safer to the sweet orange, which is a good item.