Isolation and identification of bacteria causing urinary tract infection and investigation of inhibitory effects of fenugreek seeds and ginger roots against isolated bacteria

The aim of this study is to identify the primary bacterial species responsible for urinary tract infections, assess their antibiotic resistance, and investigate the impact of specific plant extracts on inhibiting the growth of these pathogenic bacteria. At Al-Alam General Hospital, a total of 200 urine samples were gathered from both male and female patients with acute and chronic urinary tract infections during the period spanning from the start of December 2021 to the conclusion of July 2022. Culturing bacterial isolates was performed on MacConkey, blood, and mannitol agars, followed by gram staining and the utilization of VITEK 2 system technology for result confirmation. Out of the total samples, 138 (69%) demonstrated positive growth, while 62 (31%) showed no growth on the culture media. The findings indicated that among infected women, 95 (66.9%) exhibited positive bacterial growth, whereas 47 (33.1%) did not display bacterial growth. In infected males, 43 samples (74.1%) had positive cultures, while 15 samples (25.9%) did not yield bacterial growth. Furthermore, a comprehensive assessment of the bacterial isolates' antibiotic sensitivity revealed notable variability in their response to the antibiotics under study. Additionally, an investigation into the inhibitory properties of alcoholic and aqueous extracts derived from both ginger root and fenugreek bean was conducted at various concentrations. The results from this examination indicated that the alcoholic extracts of both plants exhibited a higher and more potent effectiveness against the various isolated bacterial species compared to the aqueous extracts.