Biochemical Identification and Characterization of the Antibiotic Resistance Profile of Pathogenic Bacteria Isolated from Plant-based Medicines Produced in Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

This study aimed to identify and characterize the antibiotic resistance profile of pathogenic germs isolated from plant-based medicines (PBM) produced in Côte d'Ivoire. It was carried out over a period of 15 months: August 2023 to October 2024. One thousand five hundred and eighty-five (1585) samples of herbal medicines were collected from fourteen health regions in Cote d'Ivoire and then transported to the laboratory within 24 hours of collection for processing. The search and enumeration of germs were carried out according to standardized procedures and the isolated colonies were identified by morphological and biochemical methods. Antibiotic sensitivity was assessed by the diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar, in accordance with the recommendations of the French Society of Microbiology (CA-SFM, 2022). The results show a predominance of non-fermentative Gram-negative bacteria (50.23%), such as Pseudomonas sp (19.35%), Pseudomonas fluorescens (10.13%), Flavobacterium sp (6.45%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5.06%), as well as enterobacteria (35.02%), with species such as Escherichia coli (11.99%), Enterobacter sp (5.53%) and Klebsiella sp (4.60%). The study revealed high resistance to the antibiotics used. Shigella sp and Brucella sp showed complete resistance (100%) to Tobramycin, Kanamycin and Amikacin. In addition, moderate resistance was observed in certain strains such as Micrococcus sp (25%) and Strenotrophomonas maltophilia (20%) to levofloxacin. These results highlight the risks for public health. This study highlights the importance of regulating the production of herbal medicines and strengthening microbiological controls.