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Review
. 2024 May 11;10(10):e31145.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31145. eCollection 2024 May 30.

Plant antibacterials: The challenges and opportunities

Tomayo I Berida  1 , Yemi A Adekunle  2   3 , Hannah Dada-Adegbola  4 , Ayoub Kdimy  5 , Sudeshna Roy  1 , Satyajit D Sarker  3
Affiliations
Review

Plant antibacterials: The challenges and opportunities

Tomayo I Berida et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Nature possesses an inexhaustible reservoir of agents that could serve as alternatives to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While some of the most effective drugs for treating bacterial infections originate from natural sources, they have predominantly been derived from fungal and bacterial species. However, a substantial body of literature is available on the promising antibacterial properties of plant-derived compounds. In this comprehensive review, we address the major challenges associated with the discovery and development of plant-derived antimicrobial compounds, which have acted as obstacles preventing their clinical use. These challenges encompass limited sourcing, the risk of agent rediscovery, suboptimal drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) properties, as well as a lack of knowledge regarding molecular targets and mechanisms of action, among other pertinent issues. Our review underscores the significance of these challenges and their implications in the quest for the discovery and development of effective plant-derived antimicrobial agents. Through a critical examination of the current state of research, we give valuable insights that will advance our understanding of these classes of compounds, offering potential solutions to the global crisis of AMR. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Antibacterials; Gram-negative bacteria; Plants; Resistances.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Funding T.B. was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (R21AI142210). S.R. was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (Award Number R35GM150768). Y.A.A. was supported by the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission, UK (NGCN-2021-184). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Examples of early antibacterial agents. Early antibiotics (i.e., antibacterial agents from bacterial and fungal species) (top). Early synthetic antibacterials (bottom).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria (a), Gram-negative bacteria (b) and mycobacteria (c).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Overview of the molecular mechanisms underlying antibiotic resistance. Figure obtained from article “Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance revisited” by Elizabeth M. Darby et al. and reused with permission from Springer Nature [50].
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Selected plant-derived antibacterial compounds with impressive antibacterial activity.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Naturally occurring resorcinols with antimicrobials property.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Selected plant-derived antimycobacterial compounds.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Sourcing of natural product, a berberine example.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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