effect of <i>juglans regia</i> li. stem bark hydroalcoholic extract on methicillin resistant <i>staphylococcus aureus</i>

Background]methicillinresistant <i>staphylococcus aureus</i> (mrsa) is considered a major cause of nosocomial and community infections. its prevalence varies from country to country, even between hospitals of a country. these bacteria often have multiresistance and can be difficult to treat.[objectives]the current study evaluated the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of the stem bark of <i>juglans regia</i> li. on several isolated methicillinresistant <i>staphylococcus aureus</i>.[materials and methods]a total of 50 <i>s. aureus</i> strains were isolated from various clinical specimens and antibiotic susceptibility and presence of methicillinresistant gene (<i>mec</i>a) were evaluated using disc diffusion and polymerase chain reaction (pcr) methods. the effect of hydroalcoholic extract on mrsa was evaluated by etest and minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) and minimum bactericidal concentration (mbc) were determined.[results]all of 50 mrsa strains were multidrug resistant. all mrsa strains were found resistant to penicillin, ampicillin and methicillin. a low resistance was observed toward erythromycin (48%) and then ciprofloxacin, gentamycin and clindamycin (34%). all strains except one were sensitive to vancomycin. all strains except one were <i>mec</i>a carrier in pcr and hydroalcoholic extract had significant antibacterial effect on mrsa compared to positive control. minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations were 7.81 mg/ml and 3.9 mg/ml, respectively.[conclusions]the hydroalcoholic extract of <i>juglans regia</i> li. proved to have a good effect against mrsa. in this respect, this extract can be used as a commercial disinfectant in the form of spray or solution in hospitals and public places.