Abstract
Multidrug-resistant bacteria are a significant threat to public health and new classes of antibiotics and approaches to treatment are needed. Several studies showed that natural plant-derived compounds could be a promising mean to fight microbial resistance but only a few were conducted with antibiotic resistant bacteria. Therefore, the aim of this study was to extract phenolic compounds from the leaves, fruits and tree trunk of Platanus hybrida and evaluate their antibacterial activity against antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. The polyphenolic constituents were extracted using a water/ethanol (20:80) mixture. Two grams of powder of each sample was extracted with 100 mL of solvent by stirring for 2h. The extracts were redissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to a final concentration of 100 μg/mL. Antimicrobial susceptibility assay was performed using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method and was tested against ten different bacteria: Listeria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterecoccus faecium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enteriditis, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus epidermidis e Escherichia coli. The fruits had the highest antibacterial activity showing a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 10mg/mL, contrary to the tree trunk that showed the lowest antibacterial activity. None of the extracts showed antimicrobial properties against E. faecium, S. enteriditis and E. faecalis. These results show that, Platanus hybrida’s phenolic compounds act as antibacterial agents which may become useful therapeutic tools and may represent a source for the development of novel antimicrobials. However, they were not effective against all bacteria which shows that polyphenols, alone, might not substitute antibiotics.
Highlights
Antibiotics are substances with the capacity to selectively inhibit or kill microorganisms [1]
Cell walls of Gramnegative represent a major barrier for the entry of phenolic compounds into cell cytoplasm due to the repulsion between lipopolysaccharide found in the surfaces of Gram-negative bacteria and phenols [13]
The resistance of phenolic compounds action by multidrugresistant bacteria is not completely understood but the same results of antimicrobial activity of E. faecalis and E. faecium could be explained by the fact that they share, the genus Enterococcus, and similar antibiotic resistances and resistance genes [15]
Summary
Antibiotics are substances with the capacity to selectively inhibit or kill microorganisms [1]. Pseudomonas aeruginosa are Gram-negative bacteria with high virulence These are only some examples of bacteria that act as opportunistic microorganisms that can cause severe infections and even sepsis [6]. Antimicrobial resistance will have economic implications: studies show that the world may lose between 60 and 100 trillion dollars in economic production, which represents a decrease of 2.0 to 3.5% of global gross domestic product (GDP) expected for 2050 [3]. This scenario has led to the development of research aimed at identifying new antimicrobial agents through chemical synthesis or isolation from natural products [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
