Anti-Virulence Potential and In Vivo Toxicity of Persicaria maculosa and Bistorta officinalis Extracts.

Marina Jovanović,Ivana Morić,Emilija Svirčev,Dragana Mitić-Ćulafić,Aleksandar Pavić,Biljana Nikolić,Lidija Šenerović

doi:10.3390/molecules25081811

Abstract

Many traditional remedies represent potential candidates for integration with modern medical practice, but credible data on their activities are often scarce. For the first time, the anti-virulence potential and the safety for human use of the ethanol extracts of two medicinal plants, Persicaria maculosa (PEM) and Bistorta officinalis (BIO), have been addressed. Ethanol extracts of both plants exhibited anti-virulence activity against the medically important opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. At the subinhibitory concentration of 50 µg/mL, the extracts demonstrated a maximal inhibitory effect (approx. 50%) against biofilm formation, the highest reduction of pyocyanin production (47% for PEM and 59% for BIO) and completely halted the swarming motility of P. aeruginosa. Both extracts demonstrated better anti-quorum sensing and antibiofilm activities, and a better ability to interfere with LasR receptor, than the tested dominant extracts’ constituents. The bioactive concentrations of the extracts were not toxic in the zebrafish model system. This study represents an initial step towards the integration of P. maculosa and B. officinalis for use in the treatment of Pseudomonas infections.

Highlights

One of the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is the achievement of good health and well-being for everyone, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is actively participating in supporting global efforts to integrate the best of traditional and complementary medicine with conventional medicine [1]
The antibacterial activities of different Persicaria maculosa (PEM) and Bistorta officinalis (BIO) extracts were assessed in a few recent studies, the extracts were typically tested in disk or well diffusion assays, often in concentrations too high to be relevant [12,13,14,15]
We re-evaluated the activity of PEM and BIO extracts against several important human pathogens in a more quantitative way and demonstrated that the BIO extract has moderate antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with the minimum inhibitory (MIC) and minimum bactericidal (MBC) concentrations of 156 μg/mL and 312 μg/mL, respectively, but weak bactericidal activity against

Summary

Introduction

One of the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is the achievement of good health and well-being for everyone, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is actively participating in supporting global efforts to integrate the best of traditional and complementary medicine with conventional medicine [1]. Traditional medicine faces a challenge from the lack of credible data; a comprehensive approach in the assessment of the efficacy and safety of traditionally used remedies is required. Amongst the unique healthcare challenges we are facing in the 21st century, bacterial resistance to available therapeutics is of critical importance. Less than a century after the introduction of antibiotics into clinical practice, the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has significantly increased and still rises, making bacterial infections once again a substantial threat to humanity [2]. Currently the predominant bacterial lifestyle is considered to be a biofilm form rather than a planktonic one.

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