Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus causes numerous community-acquired and nosocomial infections in humans by exploiting biofilm. In this context, this study aims to impede the formation of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm by exposing the cells to a plant-based alkaloid, piperine. Our study revealed that piperine exhibited considerable antimicrobial activity against the test organism. However, we had tested the lower concentrations (up to 32µg/mL) of piperine to observe whether they could show any antibiofilm activity against the same organism. Several experiments, like crystal violet (CV) assay, estimation of total biofilm protein, and fluorescence microscopic observations, established that lower concentrations (up to 16µg/mL) of piperine showed efficient antibiofilm activity against Staphylococcus aureus. In this connection, we also noticed that the lower concentrations (8 and 16µg/mL) of piperine showed a considerable reduction in microbial metabolic activity. Besides, it was also observed that the mentioned concentrations of piperine did not compromise the microbial growth of the target organism while exhibiting antibiofilm activity. To understand the underlying mechanism of microbial biofilm inhibition under the influence of piperine, we observed that the compound was found to accumulate reactive oxygen species in the bacterial cells that could play an important role in the inhibition of biofilm formation. Furthermore, the tested concentrations (8 and 16µg/mL) of piperine were able to inhibit the motility of the test organism that might compromise the development of biofilm. Thus, piperine could be considered as a potential agent for the effective management of biofilm threat caused by Staphylococcus aureus.
Highlights
Microorganisms are seen to exist in nature in two forms, one is known as the free-living planktonic cells, other is termed as the biofilm (Gupta et al 2016; Chakraborty et al 2018a)
Since alkaloids were reported to show different biological activities including antimicrobial properties (Cowan 1999), in the present study, antimicrobial activity of piperine was estimated against Staphylococcus aureus by determining the colony-forming units (CFU)
To determine the viable microbial counts of Staphylococcus aureus under the influence of piperine, an equal number of the organism was inoculated into sterile LB media in which varying concentrations of piperine were separately added
Summary
Microorganisms are seen to exist in nature in two forms, one is known as the free-living planktonic cells, other is termed as the biofilm (Gupta et al 2016; Chakraborty et al 2018a). Bacterial biofilm is the aggregation of either homogeneous or heterogeneous conformations of bacteria on a biotic or abiotic surface (Hurlow et al 2015; Gupta et al 2016) In this manner, the bacterial aggregates form a matured cluster by producing a self-secreted extracellular polymeric substance. A major concern of the present times is to deal with these biofilm challenges and come up with effective strategies In this regard, several natural and synthetic molecules have been examined to understand their antibiofilm activity against various biofilm-forming organisms (Das et al 2016; Chakraborty et al 2018b; Chakraborty et al 2020). For our present study, we have considered studying the antibiofilm effect of piperine against the biofilm-forming organism, Staphylococcus aureus. Our experimental analysis revealed that piperine could be considered for the effective management of biofilm threats
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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.
