Antibacterial and resistance modifying activity of Rosmarinus officinalis

Clinically relevant chromosomally encoded multidrug resistance efflux pumps in bacteria

Efflux pump genes and proteins are present in both antibiotic-susceptible and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Pumps may be specific for one substrate or may transport a range of structurally dissimilar compounds (including antibiotics of multiple classes); such pumps can be associated with multiple drug (antibiotic) resistance (MDR). However, the clinical relevance of efflux-mediated resistance is species, drug, and infection dependent. This review focuses on chromosomally encoded pumps in bacteria that cause infections in humans. Recent structural data provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of drug transport. MDR efflux pumps contribute to antibiotic resistance in bacteria in several ways: (i) inherent resistance to an entire class of agents, (ii) inherent resistance to specific agents, and (iii) resistance conferred by overexpression of an efflux pump. Enhanced efflux can be mediated by mutations in (i) the local repressor gene, (ii) a global regulatory gene, (iii) the promoter region of the transporter gene, or (iv) insertion elements upstream of the transporter gene. Some data suggest that resistance nodulation division systems are important in pathogenicity and/or survival in a particular ecological niche. Inhibitors of various efflux pump systems have been described; typically these are plant alkaloids, but as yet no product has been marketed.

Bisabolane sesquiterpenes from the roots of Ligularia cymbulifera

Eight new highly oxygenated bisabolane sesquiterpenes (1-8), of which one contains a chlorine atom, were obtained in a phytochemical investigation of the roots of Ligularia cymbulifera, and their structures were elucidated by interpretation of spectroscopic data. Their relative configurations were clarified by a detailed analysis of (1)H NMR coupling constants and by NOE experiments. Compounds 1-8 were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against three bacterial cultures and a yeast culture.

In vitro antimicrobial and resistance-modifying activities of aqueous crude khat extracts against oral microorganisms

OBJECTIVES

To assess antimicrobial activities of aqueous crude khat (Catha edulis) extracts against a panel of oral microorganisms and to test their ability to modify bacterial resistance to tetracycline and penicillin in vitro.

DESIGN

Lyophilized aqueous extracts were prepared from three khat cultivars. The agar dilution method of the NCCLS was used to test the extracts, at concentrations of 20-1.25 mg/ml, against 33 oral strains. MIC was defined as the lowest concentration at which there was no visible growth. Slight growth was defined as marked growth reduction (MGR). The E-test was used to determine the MICs of tetracycline and penicillin-G for three resistant strains in absence and presence of a sub-MIC of the khat extracts (5mg/ml).

RESULTS

Eighteen strains (55%) were sensitive to the extracts (MICs 5-20 mg/ml). Most of these were periodontal pathogens with Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythensis being the most susceptible (MIC 5-10mg/ml). Veillonella parvula, Actinomyces israelii and some streptococci were not sensitive. Except for Lactobacillus acidophilus that showed MGR at 1mg/ml, cariogenic species were neither sensitive. The extracts were active against Streptococcus pyogenes (MIC 10-20 mg/ml) but not against Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. The presence of the khat extracts at a sub-MIC resulted in a 2-4-fold potentiation of the tested antibiotics against the resistant strains.

CONCLUSIONS

Khat has water-soluble constituents possessing selective antibacterial activity against oral bacteria. There is preliminary evidence for presence of an antibiotic resistance-modifying component. Further investigation is needed to identify the active components and assess their clinical relevance.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of rosemary extracts linked to their polyphenol composition

Rosmarinus officinalis extracts were investigated by a combination of bioassays and biochemical analysis to identify bioactive compounds. The 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydracyl hydrate (DPPH) radical scavenging method, Folin-Ciocaulteau method and HPLC chromatography were used to study the distribution and levels of antioxidants (AOXs). Antimicrobial activity analysis was carried out using the disk diffusion and broth dilution techniques. A good correlation between the AOX activities and total phenol content in the extracts was found. Although all rosemary extracts showed a high radical scavenging activity, a different efficacy as antimicrobial agent was observed. Methanol extract containing 30% of carnosic acid, 16% of carnosol and 5% of rosmarinic acid was the most effective antimicrobial against Gram positive bacteria (minimal inhibition concentration, MIC, between 2 and 15 mug/ml), Gram negative bacteria (MIC between 2 and 60 mug/ml) and yeast (MIC of 4 mug/ml). By contrast, water extract containing only 15% of rosmarinic acid showed a narrow activity. MIC value of the methanol and water extracts is in a good correlation with the values obtained with pure carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, respectively. Therefore, our results suggested that the antimicrobial rosemary extracts efficacy was associated with their specific phenolic composition. Carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid may be the main bioactive antimicrobial compounds present in rosemary extracts. From a practical point of view, rosemary extract may be a good candidate for functional foods as well as for pharmaceutical plant-based products.

Multidrug resistance reversal agent from Jatropha elliptica

As part of an ongoing project to identify plant natural products as resistance-modifying agents, bioassay-guided fractionation of an extract of Jatropha elliptica (Pohl) Muell Arg. led to the isolation of a penta-substituted pyridine, namely 2,6-dimethyl-4-phenyl-pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester (8). The structure was established by spectroscopic methods. This known compound was assayed for in vitro antibacterial and resistance-modifying activities against strains of Staphylococcus aureus possessing the MsrA and NorA resistance efflux mechanisms. Antibiotic efflux studies indicated that (8) acts as an inhibitor of the NorA efflux pump and restores the level of intracellular drug concentration.

In vitro effects of essential oils fromOstericum koreanum against antibiotic-resistantSalmonella spp

The essential oil fraction of Ostericum koreanum was analyzed by GC-MS. Inhibiting activities of this oil and its main components were tested by the broth dilution assay and disk diffusion test against one antibiotic-susceptible and two resistant strains of Salmonella enteritidis and S. typhimurium, respectively. The GC-MS analysis revealed thirty-four compounds; the main components were alpha-pinene (41.12%), rho-cresol (17.99%) and 4-methylacetophenone (7.90%). The essential oil of O. koreanum and its main components were significantly effective against the tested antibiotic-susceptible strains as well as against the resistant strains of the two Salmonella species, with MICs (minimum inhibitory concentrations) ranging from 2 mg/mL to 16 mg/mL. The anti-Salmonella effects of the oils were dose-dependent on Müller-Hinton agar plates in this experiment. Additionally, checkerboard titer test results demonstrated significant combined effects of streptomycin and O. koreanum oil or cresol, one of the main components of this oil, against the two streptomycin resistant strains of S. typhimurium, with FICIs ranging from 0.12 to 0.37.

Efflux-mediated antimicrobial resistance

Antibiotic resistance continues to plague antimicrobial chemotherapy of infectious disease. And while true biocide resistance is as yet unrealized, in vitro and in vivo episodes of reduced biocide susceptibility are common and the history of antibiotic resistance should not be ignored in the development and use of biocidal agents. Efflux mechanisms of resistance, both drug specific and multidrug, are important determinants of intrinsic and/or acquired resistance to these antimicrobials, with some accommodating both antibiotics and biocides. This latter raises the spectre (as yet generally unrealized) of biocide selection of multiple antibiotic-resistant organisms. Multidrug efflux mechanisms are broadly conserved in bacteria, are almost invariably chromosome-encoded and their expression in many instances results from mutations in regulatory genes. In contrast, drug-specific efflux mechanisms are generally encoded by plasmids and/or other mobile genetic elements (transposons, integrons) that carry additional resistance genes, and so their ready acquisition is compounded by their association with multidrug resistance. While there is some support for the latter efflux systems arising from efflux determinants of self-protection in antibiotic-producing Streptomyces spp. and, thus, intended as drug exporters, increasingly, chromosomal multidrug efflux determinants, at least in Gram-negative bacteria, appear not to be intended as drug exporters but as exporters with, perhaps, a variety of other roles in bacterial cells. Still, given the clinical significance of multidrug (and drug-specific) exporters, efflux must be considered in formulating strategies/approaches to treating drug-resistant infections, both in the development of new agents, for example, less impacted by efflux and in targeting efflux directly with efflux inhibitors.