Abstract
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a serious health problem in the human population due to their chronic and recurrent nature. Bacteria causing UTIs form multispecies biofilms being resistant to the activity of the conventionally used antibiotics. Therefore, compounds of plant origin are currently being searched for, which could constitute an alternative strategy to antibiotic therapy. Our study aimed to determine the activity of asiatic acid (AA) against biofilms formed by uropathogenic Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The influence of AA on the survival, biofilm mass formation by bacteria living in mono-, dual-, and triple-species consortia as well as the metabolic activity and bacterial cell morphology were determined. The spectrophotometric methods were used for biofilm mass synthesis and metabolic activity determination. The survival of bacteria was established using the serial dilution assay. The decrease in survival and a weakening of the ability to create biofilms, both single and multi-species, as well as changes in the morphology of bacterial cells were noticed. As AA works best against young biofilms, the use of AA-containing formulations, especially during the initial stages of infection, seems to be reasonable. However, there is a need for further research concerning AA especially regarding its antibacterial mechanisms of action.
Highlights
Comparing the number of live E. coli cells in mono-species biofilm and dual-species consortia (E. coli + E. cloacae and E. coli + P. aeruginosa), it was found that the presence of either E. cloacae or P. aeruginosa in the bacterial cultures limited the growth of E. coli rods (Figure 2)
The influence of the asiatic acid (AA) on the biofilm-mass production by bacteria living in mono-species consortia
The results of this study show significant effects of AA on the survival of bacterial cells, their morphology, ability to form single, dual, and triple-species biofilms, and metabolic activity of the cells living in them
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The extibacterial effect few when used alone as well as in combination with antibiotics These periments carried out in recent years have proved that this acid has a significant antibacfocused primarily on bacteria living in suspension, i.e., planktonic forms. They included terial effect when used well(minimum as in combination with antibiotics. Films (E. coli + E. cloacae + P. aeruginosa) at various stages of their development (adhesion, 2.maturation, Materials and Methods dispersion, and migration) were established
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