Targeting ESKAPE pathogens with anti-infective medicinal plants from the Greater Mpigi region in Uganda

Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 20;10(1):11935. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-67572-8.

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance poses one of the greatest threats to global health today; conventional drug therapies are becoming increasingly inefficacious and limited. We identified 16 medicinal plant species used by traditional healers for the treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases in the Greater Mpigi region of Uganda. Extracts were evaluated for their ability to inhibit growth of clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant ESKAPE pathogens. Extracts were also screened for quorum quenching activity against S. aureus, including direct protein output assessment (δ-toxin), and cytotoxicity against human keratinocytes (HaCaT). Putative matches of compounds were elucidated via LC-FTMS for the best-performing extracts. These were extracts of Zanthoxylum chalybeum (Staphylococcus aureus: MIC: 16 μg/mL; Enterococcus faecium: MIC: 32 μg/mL) and Harungana madagascariensis (S. aureus: MIC: 32 μg/mL; E. faecium: MIC: 32 μg/mL) stem bark. Extracts of Solanum aculeastrum root bark and Sesamum calycinum subsp. angustifolium leaves exhibited strong quorum sensing inhibition activity against all S. aureus accessory gene regulator (agr) alleles in absence of growth inhibition (IC50 values: 1-64 μg/mL). The study provided scientific evidence for the potential therapeutic efficacy of these medicinal plants in the Greater Mpigi region used for infections and wounds, with 13 out of 16 species tested being validated with in vitro studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Infective Agents / chemistry
  • Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Infections / drug therapy
  • Bacterial Infections / microbiology
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / drug effects*
  • Humans
  • Keratinocytes / drug effects
  • Keratinocytes / metabolism
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Plants, Medicinal / chemistry*
  • Quorum Sensing / drug effects
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects
  • Uganda

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Plant Extracts