Antimicrobial resistance in Southeast Asia is a macro-level health dilemma that may cause substantial casualties annually. Fortunately, Southeast Asian mangroves are potent reservoirs of bioactive compounds with antimicrobial properties in correlation to their traditional usage. Hence, this study aimed to systematically review studies concerning antimicrobial activities of mangroves in Southeast Asia as well as provide a technological overview of its prospective use in pharmaceutical industry applications through patents. Through the PRISMA protocol, the search for peerreviewed studies originated from Southeast Asia and published between 2010 to 2022 were conducted over databases such as CORE, Google Scholar, PubMed (MedLine), Science Direct, Semantic Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. Additionally, a patent search was also performed on the Espacenet Patent Search, Google Patents, National Institute of Industrial Property, and United States Patent and Trademark Office. The studies and patents were collated on Mendeley Reference Manager as well as tabulated and assessed on Microsoft Office Excel 2016. After the four-phase screening, 59 studies and one patent regarding antimicrobial activities of Southeast Asian mangroves passed the criteria for the systematic review. It was inferred that Southeast Asia constitutes potentially most species-diverse mangroves with highly varied antimicrobial properties and can form synergism with drugs. The existing studies and patents may provide enlightenment on the future path of studies and inventions which must be continually substantiated in animal and clinical experiments for prospective pharmaceutical industry use. In this way, mangroves can be conserved while antimicrobial resistance and anthropogenic activities can be lowered.

Aims: The study aims to investigate the potential of the endophytic bacteria as an alternative to control the devastating brown eyespot disease caused by Cercospora sp. in coffee plants. The fungal phytopathogen causes severe leaf fall and berry damages resulting in serious yield losses in coffee farms in the Philippines and worldwide. Currently, the management of this fungal infection relies heavily on synthetic fungicides, which may be of major environmental concern. Methodology and results: Endophytic bacteria were isolated from the intercellular tissues of Coffea liberica leaves by surface sterilization, maceration, dilution technique, plating on trypticase soy agar and colony characterization. Fourteen isolated endophytic bacteria were screened for their ability to inhibit the mycelial growth of Cercospora sp. through modified dual culture assay. Isolates HCC10-3SC3, HCC10-3SC2, HCC10-1SC1, ICC10-3SC1, and ICC10-1SC1 yielded the highest percent inhibition of radial growth (PIRG) with 59.56%, 60.92%, 60.96%, 64.36%, and 67.06% respectively and are statistically significant (p<0.05) compared to the antibiotic control nystatin. The top five performing endophytic bacteria were subjected to hydrolytic enzyme production assays and found to exhibit amylolytic, lipolytic, proteolytic, chitinolytic, and cellulolytic activities. Based on the morphological and molecular identification by the 16S rRNA sequence analysis, isolates showed the similarity with Staphylococcus cohnii, Bacillus siamensis, Staphylococcus hominis, and Kosakonia cowanii found in GENBANK. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The study revealed the biological control potential of endophytic bacteria agents against the brown eyespot-causing fungus in coffee.
Endophytes--pathogenicity

Aims: The specific aim of this study was to evaluate for the first time the phytochemical constituents, functional group assignment, and antibacterial activities of the Philippine green-leafed Acalypha amentacea Roxb. (Maslakot-Ambulong), a wildcrafted medicinal plant of local traditional healers in the southern most region of Mindoro province. Methodology and results: Aqueous leaf extracts of A. amentacea Roxb. were lyophilized and subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening and FT-IR analysis. The antibacterial activity of the plant using agar-well diffusion assay revealed highest Zone of Inhibition (ZOI) in 500 mg/mL concentration for Staphylococcus aureus (21.78 mm), Escherichia coli, (21.36 mm), Serratia marcescens (21.90 mm), Klebsiella pneumoniae (21.44 mm), and Enterococcus faecalis (20.52 mm) among other concentrations suggesting a dose dependent bioactivity. Also, compared to the antibiotic Rifampicin, A. amentacea Roxb. demonstrated better bioactivity against all the selected bacteria except S. aureus (p<0.05) and comparable to Ofloxacin when against E. faecalis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extract was found to be at 15.6 mg/mL for all the bacteria except for S. marcescens with 31.25 mg/mL as MIC. The bioactivity of the plant may be accounted to the presence of alkaloid, phenol, flavonoid, tannin, and saponin which were supported by its functional groups like carboxylic acid, alcohols, amine, conjugated alkene, aromatic esters, and alkyl aryl ether. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The results of this investigation, proved that A. amentacea Roxb. has bioactive antibacterial principles against the selected microorganisms. This also confirms its potentiality as a new source of antibacterial agents.

Objective: To identify the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) among school-age children in the Cagayan Valley, the Philippines, assess their level of awareness on the disease, and determine predisposing factors of the disease. Methods: A total of 478 Grades III-V school-age children in Pamplona and Sanchez-Mira School Districts in the Cagayan Valley answered the questionnaire assessing their knowledge, attitude, and practices on STH, subjected to anthropometric measurements, and provided faecal samples for parasitologic assessment (direct smear, Kato-Katz, and formol-ether concentration techniques). Results: The participants of the study, with 55.86% females, were 8 to 14 years old. Their nutritional status was assessed 'normal' (84.31%), 'severely wasted' (6.49%), 'wasted' (5.23%), 'overweight' (2.72%), and 'obese' (1.26%). The prevalence of infection with at least 1 STH species was 25.99% in Pamplona and 19.40% in Sanchez- Mira. Overall, the prevalence of heavy intensity was 7.11% for Ascaris lumbricoides and 1.67% for Trichuris trichiura. All hookworm infections had light intensities. The majority of the school-age children had a low score in the KAP test. In knowledge of STH, 'stunted growth as a symptom of infection' was associated with a lower risk of Ascaris lumbricoides infection (OR 0.448; 95% CI 0.212, 0.945; P=0.035) while 'playing with soil as a mode of transmission' was associated with an increased risk of Ascaris lumbricoides infection (OR 2.067; 95% CI 1.014, 4.212; P=0.046). In attitude towards STH, 'I think I have intestinal worm now' was associated with a higher risk of Ascaris lumbricoides infection (OR 1.681; 95% CI 1.061, 2.662; P=0.027). Conclusions: The prevalence rate of Ascaris lumbricoides among the school-age children in the Cagayan Valley shows the need to further intensify intervention in the area to meet the threshold set by the World Health Organization. The identified predictors of infection, which concerns the school-age children's knowledge and attitude toward STH, can be used in augmenting intervention programs in the future.