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Nature: The Best Source of Antibacterial Agents
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Nature: The Best Source of Antibacterial Agents

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 6371

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Diana Obistioiu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Timisoara, University of Life Sciences “King Michael I” from Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania
Interests: microbiological analysis of multiple matrices; antimicrobial testing; obtaining extracts and essential oils; determination of plant chemical compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ersilia Alexa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Food Engineering, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului 119, RO-300645 Timișoara, Romania
Interests: agricultural products; plants active compounds; vegetal food technologies; functional and dietary foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ileana Cocan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Timisoara, University of Life Sciences “King Michael I” from Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania
Interests: plant extracts; antioxidant activity; HPLC analysis; GC-MS analysis; essential oils

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A major global public health concern has emerged due to the increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. The treatment of infectious diseases is severely hampered by the growing resistance of pathogenic bacteria to the effects of synthetic antimicrobials. This situation is a byproduct of the usage of antibiotics in human or veterinary medicine, especially in the food and agricultural industries, which over time has resulted in an alarming rise in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause nosocomial or community infections.

Finding new sources of antimicrobial agents is crucial as this situation, along with the unfavorable side effects of some treatments, constitutes a severe medical issue.

The huge interest of the scientific community in this area may be seen in the research of natural products with antibacterial potential, which seeks to discover active principles or synergistic mixes of natural substances to develop new medications. Due to the rich terrestrial diversity and plethora of potential sources, research on the biodiversity of crude extracts, essential oils, isolated compounds, and other products, obtained from vegetal species, animal products, and minerals is also playing a significant role. Therefore, proving the effectiveness of the aforementioned products on a scientific basis against pathogenic bacteria of medical and agricultural importance can be a significant advance in antibiotic resistance prevention and control.

Dr. Diana Obistioiu
Prof. Dr. Ersilia Alexa
Dr. Ileana Cocan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural compounds
  • antibacterial agents
  • plant
  • extracts
  • essential oils
  • animal products
  • byproducts

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 5331 KiB  
Article
Effects of Silybum marianum L. Seed Extracts on Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) Bacteria
by Shimaa El-Sapagh, Nanis G. Allam, Mohamed Nour El-Dein El-Sayed, Asmaa Ahmed El-Hefnawy, Grażyna Korbecka-Glinka and Awad Y. Shala
Molecules 2024, 29(1), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29010064 - 21 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1973
Abstract
Wound infections became a great challenge, especially after the emergence of bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Medicinal plants can be the source of alternative antibacterial agents effective against multi drug resistant (MDR) bacteria. This research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different [...] Read more.
Wound infections became a great challenge, especially after the emergence of bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Medicinal plants can be the source of alternative antibacterial agents effective against multi drug resistant (MDR) bacteria. This research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different Silybum marianum seed extracts in fighting MDR bacteria that infect wounds. First, thirty purified bacterial cultures obtained from superficial, infected wounds were subjected to antibiotic sensitivity tests. The selected MDR isolates were then used to test the antimicrobial effects of different S. marianum seed extracts. The most potent extract was evaluated for its impact on the ultrastructure of the cells of sensitive bacterial isolates using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The bioactive ingredients of this extract were analyzed by means of gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS). Then, in-silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) properties were predicted for the main components. The results indicated that four out of 30 bacterial isolates were considered MDR bacteria. Primary morphological features of colonies, secondary (automatic) identification using the Biomerieux Vitek 2 System, and 16S rRNA sequencing of the four isolates confirmed that they represent Staphylococcus aureus, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli. Among different extracts of S. marianum seeds, ethanol extract showed the strongest inhibitory effect on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values between 9.375 and 1.172 mg/mL. However, at concentrations four times higher, this extract was unable to kill bacterial cells, indicating that it had a bacteriostatic effect on the tested MDR strains. TEM revealed denaturation and distorted cell ultrastructure in S. aureus and S. maltophilia after exposure to ethanol extract. In addition, GC–MS analysis of the ethanol extract identified nine compounds known to have important biological activities, and ADMET analysis showed good drug-likeness for two of these compounds. Consequently, S. marianum seeds could be a good source of alternative bacteriostatic agents effective against MDR bacterial strains that cause wound infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature: The Best Source of Antibacterial Agents)
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15 pages, 10204 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Antifungal Activity of Selected Essential Oils against Drug-Resistant Clinical Aspergillus spp. Strains
by Valeria Allizond, Lorenza Cavallo, Janira Roana, Narcisa Mandras, Anna Maria Cuffini, Vivian Tullio and Giuliana Banche
Molecules 2023, 28(21), 7259; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28217259 - 25 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3803
Abstract
Background: Treatment options for aspergillosis include amphotericin B (AMB) and azole compounds, such as itraconazole (ITZ). However, serious side effects related to these antifungal agents are increasingly evident, and resistance continues to increase. Currently, a new trend in drug discovery to overcome this [...] Read more.
Background: Treatment options for aspergillosis include amphotericin B (AMB) and azole compounds, such as itraconazole (ITZ). However, serious side effects related to these antifungal agents are increasingly evident, and resistance continues to increase. Currently, a new trend in drug discovery to overcome this problem is represented by natural products from plants, or their extracts. Particularly, there is a great interest in essential oils (EOs) recognized for their antimicrobial role towards bacteria, fungi and viruses. Methods: In this study, we evaluated the antifungal activity of eleven commercial EOs—clove, eucalyptus, geranium, hybrid lavender, lavender, lemon, lemongrass, neroli, oregano, tea tree and red red thyme—in comparison with AMB and ITZ against Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus and A. niger clinical isolates. Antifungal activity was determined by broth microdilution method, agar diffusion technique, fungistatic and fungicidal activities and vapor contact assay. Results: Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis displayed two groups of distinct biosynthetical origin: monoterpenes dominated the chemical composition of the most oils. Only two aromatic compounds (eugenol 78.91% and eugenyl acetate 11.64%) have been identified as major components in clove EO. Lemongrass EO exhibits the strongest antimicrobial activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.56 mg/mL and a minimum fungicidal concentration of 2.25–4.5 mg/mL against Aspergillus spp. strains. Clove and geranium EOs were fairly effective in inhibiting Aspergillus spp. growth. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the antimicrobial potential of some EOs and support the research of new alternatives or complementary therapies based on EOs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature: The Best Source of Antibacterial Agents)
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