EFFECTS OF SARAFLOXACIN HYDROCHLORIDE ON HUMAN ENTERIC BACTERIA UNDERSIMULATED HUMAN GUT CONDITIONS

The effects of sarafloxacin, a newly developed veterinary fluoroquinol one antimicrobial, on 15 strains of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria of human origin were assessed under simulated human gut conditions. An in vitro gut simulation model was designed to mimic the situation of sar afloxacin (free and bound to meat) passing through the human gastroint estinal tract. The survival of bacteria in the simulation model and an y subsequent change in the sensitivity of isolates to sarafloxacin wer e measured. The inhibitory level of sarafloxacin for the tested bacter ia was strain dependent. It appeared that in broth culture Escherichia coil isolates were sensitive to sarafloxacin concentrations 5-fold lo wer than the concentrations present in the simulated gut model, sugges ting that sarafloxacin may be partially unavailable due to absorption to organic matter in the model. There was no significant observed chan ge in the sarafloxacin sensitivity of the bacterial strains exposed to the compound in the model.