IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I VO L.22 (3) 2009 The Microbial Iso lates of the Human Axilla Among Some Students and Employees of the College of Education –Ibn Al-Haitham, University of Baghdad I. A-J Ibrahi m , S A-M AL- Hada ria De partment of Biology, College of Education Ibn Al- Haitham ,University of Baghdad Abstract Body odour is the smell caused by bacteria feeding on sweat on the skin, esp ecially in the armp it and groin area. Fifty -four volunteers from st udents and emp loyees of college of Education Ibn Al- Haitham, were survey ed. Data were obtained concerning: subject details and microbial examination. The following conclusions were reached: 1) coagulase negative Staphylococcus was the most common isolate. 2) The most effective antibiotics were amikacin, cip rofloxacin, vancomycin, cep halothin, tobramy cin, gentamycin resp ectively and were least sensitive to methicillin and p enicillin G. 3) Alum zirconium and alum chlorohy drate were the most effective antipersp irants. Introduction The average p erson has 2.6 million sweat glands in his skin (1). Armp its odour, usually begins with p uberty . There are two kinds of sweat glands in the human body , the apocrine glands, which secrete a milky fluid from the hair follicles, and the eccrine glands, which are the source of most p ersp iration (2). Eccrine sweat is comp osed of water, sodium, p otassium, lactate, urea, ammonia, serine, ornithine, citrulline, asp artic acid, heavy metals, organic comp ounds and p roteoly tic enzy me (3). Ap ocrine glands also contain proteins and fatt y acids, which make it thicker and give it a milkier or y ellowish color (1). M icrobes break down the apocrine secretions and release a chemical called 3- methy l – 2- hexenoic acid which p roduces a st rong distinctive odour (4). Sweat can be made in resp onse to nerve st imulation, hot air temp erature and low exercise (1). Sweat as it is secreted by axillary glands is odorless (5).When drop lets of apocrine sweat p laced on the fore- arm, were inoculated with various bacteria, only diphtheroids generated ty p ical body odour and cocci produced a sweaty odour att ributable to iso- valeric acid (6). The present study was aimed toward the following objective: 1) Determination of the most p revalent bacterial armp it residues. 2) The susceptibility of bacterial isolates to antimicrobial agents. 3) Determination of the commercial deodorant and antip ersp irant were mostly used by st udents and staff members. It was t he first st udy in Iraq about t his p roblem. Materials and Methods S ubjects: Fifty -four male and female users of deodorant and antip ersp irants from the College of Education Ibn Al- Haitham (st udent and st aff) were included in this invest igation. Three or four samples were taken from each user, left and right armp it, inflammation in back and chest and deodorant or antip ersp irants container. Volunteers had been instructed to st op using deodorants for 24 hr. before samp le collection. IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I VO L.22 (3) 2009 Culture Techni que and Microbiology Identi fication: Axillary bacteria and deodorant or antip ersp irants surface were collected using cott on- swabs. Swabs were st reaked over the surface of the blood agar, M annitol salt agar, M acConky agar and Sabaroud agar. Conventional laboratory p rocedures for isolation and identification of microorganism were used according to the Baily and Scott ΄s manual 2002 (7). Case Historie s: Fifty -four users with deodorant and/or antip ersp irants were asked to report their: - name, sex, age, marital st atus, occup ation, ty p e of deodorant and manufacturers, skin inflammation, any medical treatment. Anti microbial S usceptibil ity Testi ng: All isolates were subjected for their resp onse to antimicrobial agents according to the M icrobiology manual (8). Ant imicrobial discs (Bioanaly se) used were amikacin (30µg), cip rofloxacin (5µg), cep halothin (30µg), gentamycin (10µg), methicillin (5µg), p encillin G (10U), tobramy cin (10µg) and vancomy cin (30µg). Re sults and Discussion Case Historie s: The initial st udy showed 86% of the volunteers comp lain from bad smell odour and 48% volunteers with back and chest skin inflammation. Other subject details are outlined in Table (1). No comparison studies were available. Bacterial Isol ates: The axillary microflora is comp osed of four p rinciple group s of bacteria (Staphylococcus, aerobic Coryneforms, Micrococcus and Propionibacteria) and the Yeast genus Malassezia (9, 10). Coagulase negative Staphylococcus was found to be the most p revalent organism isolated, which represented (78%), Micrococcus (9%), coagulase p ositive Staphylococcus (7.27%) and Corynebacterium sp p . (5.95%) but all antip ersp irant and deodorant containers were st erile (Table 2). Ot her st udy reported the p resence of p rop ionic acid in many sweat samples. This acid is a breakdown p roduct of some amino acids by Propionibacteria, which thrive in the ducts of adolescent and adult sebaceous glands (11). Isovaleric acid (3-methy l butanoic acid) is the other source of body odour as a result of actions of the Staphylococcus epidermidis (12, 13). Our st udy revealed 26% of Staphylococcus isolated was B-hemolytic. Anot her research team from Swiss comp any showed Staphylococcus haemolyticus p roduced the most sulfurous scent (14). In vitro and In vivo st udies by Rennie et al. and Natsch et al., revealed underarm odour that p roduced exclusively by aerobic Cory neform bacteria (15, 16). Anti microbial S usceptibil ity Testi ng: All armp it bacterial isolates, showed high sensitivity to amikacin, cip rofloxacin, vancomycin, cep halothin, tobramy cin, and gentamycin resp ectively, and low sensitivity to methicillin and p enicillin G (Table 3). Ot her p revious report showed that untreated individuals carry a significant p ool of single and multiple resistant Staphylococci of sufficient size to be readily disseminated by direct contact and desquamation (17). The rapid development of resistance to cip rofloxacin due to excretion of this drug into the sweat might be involved in the development of multiresist ant S. epidermidis and p ossibly other skin bacteria in hosp itals and in communities with high use of cip rofloxacin or related drugs (18). Anti perspirants and De odorant Testi ng: Different ty p es of commercially available antip ersp irants and deodorants were tested. According to the container inst ruction, it shows the most effective were aluminum IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I VO L.22 (3) 2009 chlorohy drate, aluminum zirconium, triclosan and ethanol (Table 4). The results of table (4) were derived from a questionnaire that was conducted during the research. According to cosmetic researchers information there are top five ingredients to avoid, Parabens (these p reservatives come in several forms {methy l, ethy l, prop y l & buty 1} which had been found in breast cancer tumors), aluminum comp ound (It has been connected to alzheimer disease), triclosan (It’s a chemical that is classified as a p esticide by FDA),p rop ely n glycol and Talc (19). Deodorants mainly work on controlling the growt h of bacteria on the skin and antip ersp irants on t he other hand, actually p revent the sweat coming out in the first p lace (3). The Food and Drug Administ ration (FDA) controls the active ingredients used in antip ersp irant be legally classified as drugs. The ingredients are limited to aluminum chlorohy drat chloride, aluminum sulfate, and aluminum zirconium comp lexes. M ost of these materials are sup p lied as p owder ty p ically used at levels of 8-25% based on the weight of the finished p roduct (20). Today, st icks are the single most p op ular antip ersp irant form (20). Our data show 40.6% of users p refer st ick form Table(1) In conclusion, coagulase negative Staphylococcus was found to be the most p redominant isolate among other armpit bacteria. Such isolates may be the main resp onsible of malodors. All antip ersp irants & deodorants p roduct available locally are not subjected to quality control. According to our research data, users need to be educated about the p rop er antip ersp irant and deodorant and their use. Refe rences: 1. Freudenrich, C.C. (2000) How Sweat Works. http ://halth.howst uffworks.com/sweat 1.htm 2.Bill Willis.(2001) Armp it Odour. http ://www.worsley school.not/science/files/armp it/odour.htm1 3.Deja Lu. (2005) Health and Hy giene . http //deia-lu.org/archives/000011 4.Judith, W. (2006). Odour Causing Bacteria. Jan.20, http ://www.cramscience.ca/es.p hp ?=8 5.Shelley ,W.B., Hurley , H.J. & Nichols, A.C. Arch. (1953) Dermatol. Sy p hilol. 68,430-446. 6.Ley den, J.J.; M cGinley, K.J. ;Hoelzle, E. Labows, J.N. & Kligman, A. (1981).The journal of invest igation Dermatology . 77(5):413-416. 7.Bailey &Scott ΄s. (2002). Diagnost ic M icrobiology . 11 th edition. M osby USA 8.M urray, P.R. & Baron, E.J. (1999). M anual of Clinical M icrobiology .7 th edition. 2. 9.Kort ing, H.C., Lukacs A. & Braun-Falco.(1988).Hautarzt . 39(9):564-568. 10.Taylor, D.; Daulby , A.; Grimshaw, S.; James, G.; M ercer J. & Vaziri ,S. (2003).Int. J.Cosmet. Sci. 25(3) :137-145. 11. Wikipedia En cyclop edia. Body odour. 17 Jun (2008). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/body _odor 12. Ara K., Hama, M .; Akiba, S.; Koike, K.; Okisaka, K. Hagura, T.; kamiga, T. & Tomita F. (2006). Can J. M icrobiol. 52(4):357-364. 13. M arshall, J. ;Holland, K. T. & Gribbon E.M . (1988).J. Ap p l. Bacteriol. 65(1):61- 68. 14. Clark, A.J. (2004). Researchers identify new sulfur- containing scent in Sweat.7- Oct.. http ://www.news_medical.net/ 15.Natch, A.;Gfeller ,H.;Gy gax P.; Schmid, J. & Acuna, G. (2003), J.Biological Chemistry ; 278(8): 5718-5727. 16.Rennie, P.J. Gower, D.B. & Holland, K.T . (1991). Br. J. Dermatol. 124(6): 596-602. 17. Cove, J.H.; Anne Eady E. & Cunliffe, W.J. (1990).J. Ant imicrobial Chemotherap y . 25:459-469. 18. Hoiby , N.; Jarlor, J.O.; Kemp, M . Trede M .Bangsborg J.M .,Kjerulf A., Pers C. & Hansen H. (1997). Lancet Jan.18: 349 (9046): 167-169. 19. Belger, M . (2007).Want a Fresh, Green Deodorant? Don’t Sweat It . Green Day – Today IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I VO L.22 (3) 2009 show.com 20.Randy, S. Art icle. http://www.answers.com/top ic/antipersp irant- deodorant_st ick Table (1): S ubject Details M. Mean ± standard dev iati on; St. st udent ; S. st aff; Si . Sin gle; M. Married Table (2): Type and Number of Isol ates Bacterial i solates Stap hylococcus Coagulase – ve Stap hylococcus Coagulase +ve Micrococcus spp. Corynebacterium sp p. Sub jects n umber 86 8 10 6 *Total 11 0 *The no . of is ol ates refers to left an d ri ght armpit , chest an d b ack in flammatio n and deo do rant s urface Table (3): Percentage of Bacterial Sensiti vity to Anti biotics Antimicrobial Agents Staphy lococcus Coagulase – ve Staphy lococcus Coagulase +ve Microc occus spp. Cory nebac ter ium spp. Amik acin 100 10 0 100 100 Cip rofloxacin 80 10 0 66 .6 100 Cephalothin 93 .3 33 .3 100 100 Gentamycin 93 .3 10 0 33 .3 66 .6 Methicillin 20 33 .3 0 0 P encillin G 10 0 33 .3 0 Tobramycin 73 .3 10 0 33 .3 100 Vancomycin 93 .2 33 .3 100 100 Change th e ty pe of deodo rant % Smell o dour % Occupation % Stat us % Age (yr)m Sex % Users (5 4) Stu d. S. S. M. ♀ ♂ 44 .4 86 66 .7 33.3 65 35 24.1 ± 5.7 63 37 Do not use deodorant % More th an one person use the same deodorant % Type of deo dorant% Cli nical sy mpto m % alum sp ray li quid so lid (sticks) 22 .2 37 7.4 26 26 40 .6 48 IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I VO L.22 (3) 2009 Table( 4): Commercial Antiperspirants and Deodorants Available P roduct Type Manufacturer Active Ingrediant Rexona li quid Canada Alu minum Chl orohydrante Teen sp irit ( Menn en) so lid (sticks ) Jordan Alu minum Chl orohydrante Dove so lid (sticks) USA Alu minum Zirconium Gillett e sp ry UK Triclosan AXE sp ry India Ethanol Gravity so lid (sticks ) USA Triclosan Alu m so lid (sticks ) Local p roduct Alu minum su lfate 2009) 3( 22مجلة ابن الهیثم للعلوم الصرفة والتطبیقیة المجلد دراسة المحتوى المایكروبي لمنطقة االبط لعدد من طلبة ومنتسبي كلیة ابن الھیثم -التربیة سندس عبد المھیمن محمد الحضریة ، بار ابراھیم اسراء عبد الج جامعة بغداد ،ابن الھیثم -كلیة التربیة ،قسم علوم الحیاة خالصةال ى د والمتغذیـة عـل واتج مـادة العـرق من المتعارف علیھ ان رائحة الجسم ناتجة عن تواجد البكتریا على سـطح الجـل ـن وبعـد ، ابـن الھیـثم –من طلبة وموظفین كلیـة التربیـة "امتطوع 54شملت الدراسة . في منطقة االبط واالربیة والسیما :لى نتائج الفحص المایكروبي تبین االتيالحصول على المعلومات الخاصة بالمتطوع واستنادا ا ــیوعا والســیما -1 ـر ش ـي االكـث ـرام ـھ ــبغ ـك ـة لص ــا الموجـب ـات ذيالبكتری ـا العنقودـی ــل التجلطــي الســالب بكترـی تفاع (coagulase-negative) . ـــة ان -2 ـت نتـــائج اختبـــار الحساســـیة للمضـــادات الحیوی amikacin, cipاثبـت rofloxacin, vancomycin, cep halothin, tobramycin, gentamycin ھي االكفأ في التأثیر ضد البكتریا المعزولة مـن منطقـة ـ methicillin, pاالبط وأظھر اـل enicillin ااالقل تاثیر". وم -3 انواالل ،تبین من خالل الدراسة ان كـال مـن ملـح االلومنیـوم زركونـی وم كلوروھایـدریت ھمـا المادـت االكثـر ومنـی . منع التعرقفعالیة في