Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

Chapter 2 includes three parts: (1)Oregano, (2)Streptococcus pneumoniae , and (3)

Summary.

Part one, Oregano leaves extracts, discusses the characteristics of Oregano

leaves extracts and its antimicrobial effects on Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Part Two, Streptococcus pneumoniae, discusses the characteristics of

Streptococcus pneumoniae and its mortality rate.

Part three, Summary, summarizes researches relevant to the present study.

Oregano

Oregano has been grown in the Mediterranean region for generations. Actually,

there are multiple species of "oregano" that may contribute to the oregano used in

cooking, not just one. Typically, the spice variety sold as oregano in Europe and the

US is Origanum vulgare, also known as Spanish thyme and wild marjoram. It

belongs to the Lamiaceae plant family. Oregano has been used medicinally for

thousands of years. In the ancient Greek and Roman empires, the leaves were

applied topically to treat conditions like skin sores, ease muscle pain, and act as an

antiseptic.

Traditional treatments have utilized oregano to treat conditions like asthma,

cramps, diarrhea, and indigestion. Greeks continue to utilize an oregano infusion as

a traditional treatment for stomachaches, colds, and other ailments. Although the

ability to fight off human illnesses has not been thoroughly researched, oregano

extracts and individual constituents have repeatedly shown antimicrobial activities in

vitro against food-borne pathogens. Oregano has a number of strong antioxidants,

which may help explain why preliminary studies have shown that oregano has

advantages for the nervous and cardiovascular systems, reduces inflammation

symptoms, and regulates blood sugar and lipids.

According to Amber et al., (2011 ),Due to the various powerful effects of their

constituent parts, many aromatic spices and herbs have been utilized in traditional

medicine for a very long time. Oregano is a crucial culinary and medicinal herb that

is used in both cooking and medicine. Terpenes, sesquiterpenes, and related

oxygenated components are the source of the essential oils that oregano produces

to protect itself from germs and viruses that cause sickness. Oregano is a rich source

of bioactive compounds that have been pharmacologically tested for treating a

variety of infectious disorders and exhibit hepatoprotective, carminative,

spasmolytic, antibacterial, antiviral, and anticancer activities. The oregano plant,

Origanum, is a valuable source of spices and essential oils with a vast range of

species and subspecies, the latter of which offer broad spectrum antibacterial

characteristics. Gram-positive and -negative. Antibiotic-resistant strains of gram

negative and positive bacteria as well as oregano essential oil's susceptibility (OEO).

Cytotoxicity increased in a concentration-dependent way after the oregano

extract was administered to A549 epithelial cells. Carvacrol and thymol in equimolar

concentrations were less cytotoxic than those in the extract. In defending the A549

cells from hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity, the extract's antioxidant effect

was more effective than the interaction of equimolar doses of thymol and carvacrol.
Along with being antibacterial, the oregano extract was also effective against clinical

isolates and Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains (Coccimiglio., 2016).

In conclusion, the cytotoxic, antioxidant, and antibacterial effects of oregano

extract are principally due to carvacrol and thymol.

In vitro inhibition of S. pyogenes (MIC 0.13 g/mL) and C. pyogenes (MIC 0.13

g/mL). The Plectranthus amboinicus (PA) extract demonstrated resistance to

Candida albicans (MIC 0.03 g/mL). The highest concentration of Plectranthus

amboinicus (PA) extract used in this study (MBC >0.25 g/mL, MFC >0.25 g/mL) was

insufficient to demonstrate bactericidal and fungicidal activity. The checkerboard

dilution method revealed that Plectranthus amboinicus (PA) extract had no effect

when combined with either penicillin (for S. pyogenes) or nystatin (for C. albicans)

(Manlubatan et al., 2022).

Plectranthus amboinicus crude extract has the ability to inhibit the growth of

both S. pyogenes, as well as C. albicans. This demonstrates its potential use in the

treatment of these organisms' throat infections (Manlubatan et al., 2022).

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae are lancet-shaped, gram-positive, facultative

anaerobic bacteria with more than 100 known serotypes. Most S. pneumoniae

serotypes can cause disease, but only a minority of serotypes produce the majority

of pneumococcal infections.
 Streptococcus pneumoniae as a complex relationship with its obligate human

host. On the one hand, the pneumococci are highly adapted commensals, and their

main reservoir on the mucosal surface of the upper airways of carriers enables

transmission. On the other hand, they can cause severe disease when bacterial and

host factors allow them to invade essentially sterile sites, such as the middle ear

spaces, lungs, bloodstream and meninges. Transmission, colonization and invasion

depend on the remarkable ability of S. pneumoniae to evade or take advantage of

the host inflammatory and immune responses.

According to Fernandez et al., (2016), with a 10.0 mm inhibition zone, P.

sarmentosum prevented the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

(MRSA). For the other examined microorganisms, no inhibitory zone was seen. A 50

mg/ml result for the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test and a 100 mg/ml

Colony Forming Unit (CFU) against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

(MRSA) in the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) results, respectively, were

obtained. The crude extract's phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of

tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids glycosides, and anthraquinone. Additionally confirming

the presence of flavonoids and alkaloids in the extract was thin-layer

chromatography (TLC.)

According to Kagia, R.( 2021), the pharmacological efficacy of Moringa oleifera

extracts offers a potentially effective substitute for traditional preventative and

therapeutic measures.The Muller Hinton agar plate diffusion method was used to

evaluate the susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae to the subject

extracts.Futhermore, the anti-bacterial activity of the ethanol and methanol extracts

was effective however it is lesser when compared to the 30 mcg positive control.

The researcher conclude that the antibacterial activity of the aqueous extract

against Streptococcus pneumoniae has been confirmed to be effective in treating

infections.(Kagia, R., 2021).

According to Barkowsky et al., (2021), 32 serotypes of Streptococcus

Pneumoniae were found among a total of 307 isolates; the most common serotypes

were found in isolates from people under the age of five.The prevalence of

pneumococcal conjugate vaccination was as follows, and the overall AMR of invasive

Streptococcus Pneumoniae isolates as low.

The researchers concluded that Antisense peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) have

been demonstrated to inhibit the development of numerous harmful microorganisms

in a variety of infection scenarios.The study stated that antisense PNAs were able to

kill Streptococcus pneumoniae in vitro.The specificity of the antimicrobial effect was

said to be decreasing target gene transcription levels in Streptococcus

pneumoniae.Furthermore, efficient antisense PNAs can be developed for the

medication of Streptococcus pneumoniae infections. (Barkowsky., 2021)

 Summary

Oregano is used in culinary and as medicines, it is an important culinary and

medicinal herb. Essential oils produced by Oregano in defense against disease

causing bacteria and viruses are derived from terpenes, sesquiterpenes and their

oxygenated compounds. Oregano is a rich source of bioactive compound that have

hepatoprotective, carminative, spasmolytic, antimicrobial, antiviral and anticancer

properties and have been pharmacologically evaluated for treating many infectious

diseases. Oregano is an herb that has been cultivated for centuries in the

Mediterranean area, although it now can be found on most continents. Actually,

there is not simply one "oregano," but rather several species that may contribute to

the oregano used for culinary purposes. Origanum vulgare (also referred to as

Spanish thyme and wild marjoram), a member of the plant family Lamiaceae, is

generally the spice variety sold as oregano in Europe and the United States.

The Antimicrobial Properties of Oregano extract’s are carvacrol and thymol.

Streptococcus pneumoniae are lancet-shaped, gram-positive, facultative anaerobic

bacteria with more than 100 known serotypes. Most S. pneumoniae serotypes can

cause disease, but only a minority of serotypes produce the majority of

pneumococcal infections. There are 100 known serotypes of Streptococcus

pneumoniae, the bacteria that cause pneumococcal disease. Streptococcus

pneumoniae is the most common cause of middle ear infections, sepsis (blood

infection) in children and pneumonia in immunocompromised individuals and the

elderly. It can also cause meningitis (inflammation of the coverings of the brain and
spinal cord) or sinus infections. Peptide nucleic acids(PNAs) were able to kill

Streptococcus pneumoniae in vitro. Furthermore, PNAs can be developed for the

medication of Streptococcus pneumoniae infections. Streptococcus pneumoniae as a

complex relationship with its obligate human host. On the one hand, the

pneumococci are highly adapted commensals, and their main reservoir on the

mucosal surface of the upper airways of carriers enables transmission.

On the other hand, they can cause severe disease when bacterial and host

factors allow them to invade essentially sterile sites, such as the middle ear spaces,

lungs, bloodstream and meninges. Transmission, colonization and invasion depend

on the remarkable ability of S. pneumoniae to evade or take advantage of the host

inflammatory and immune responses. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most

common pathogen causing death in children under 5 years old. This retrospective

surveillance aimed to analyze serotype distribution, drug resistance, virulence

factors, and molecular characteristics of pneumonia isolates from children in

Shanghai, China.