Combined Effect of Isolated Bacteriophage and Neem Extract on Isolated Multiple Drug-Resistant Pathogenic E1 From Well Water.

Multiple drug-resistant () is a serious cause of concern, and they can be observed in hospital settings, natural environment, and animals. Dissemination of multiple drug-resistant (MDR) can pose a high risk to public health. Moreover, they are hard to control with commercial antibiotics, since they have acquired resistance against most of them. Therefore, to control multiple drug-resistant bacteria, alternative strategies have been adopted such as phage therapy, herbal remedies, nanoparticles etc. In the current study, the combined application of neem leaf extract and bacteriophage is used to control an isolated multiple drug-resistant E1. We have applied 0.1 mg/ml concentration of neem extract in combination with an isolated phage vB_EcoM_C2 of 10 titer and found that the combinatorial treatment approach significantly controls the growth of E1 as compared to a single non-combinatorial treatment. In this study, every cell is targeted by 2 antimicrobials (phage and neem extract) at the same time, which is more effective as compared to the sole treatment. Implementation of the neem extract with phage opens a new alternative approach to the chemotherapeutics for the control of multiple drug-resistant bacterial pathogens. This approach may be effective, economical, and eco-friendly to combat MDR.