Advance in Natural Products: Potential Antimicrobial Targets

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant-Derived Antibiotics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2024 | Viewed by 524

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Antimicrobial Testing, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38405-320, MG, Brazil
Interests: antibacterial activity; medicinal plants; biofilm; anaerobe; natural products; medicinal chemistry; bioactive compounds; anti-virulence
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research into natural products for the development of new antimicrobials is urgently needed on account of antimicrobial resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics, combined with the limited development of new agents for the treatment of human and animal infectious diseases. These facts have generated a global race to find solutions for the development of new and more efficient antimicrobials. New ways of obtaining secondary metabolites and the rational use of the structural and molecular knowledge of these compounds, combined with methodologies for evaluating antimicrobial activity, antivirulence, as well as confirming pharmacological applications, can contribute to advancing the frontier of knowledge in the search for solutions to use in the development of potential antimicrobials from natural products.

Therefore, this Special Issue will bring scientific insights and opportunities in the context of the application of natural products to new targets using novel strategies for antimicrobial control. The articles we run will present innovative solutions for the pharmaceutical industry and governments in the treatment of human and animal diseases. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: 

  • News antimicrobial targets;
  • Novel and diverse chemical metabolic;
  • Antivirulence and antiresistance approaches;
  • Biological assays: in vitro versus in vivo;
  • Mechanisms of action;
  • Advances and applications in antimicrobial discovery;
  • Antimicrobial for humans and animals.

Manuscripts on the biological activity of natural extracts without proper chemical characterization will not be considered.

Prof. Dr. Carlos H. G. Martins
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2900 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 products
  • antimicrobial activity
  • anti-virulence
  • bioactive molecules
  • mechanisms and applications
  • biological activity
  • drug development
  • medicinal plants

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1338 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Efficacy of Ciprofloxacin and Tobramycin against Staphylococcus aureus When Combined with Corydalis Tuber and Berberine through Efflux Pump Inhibition
by Yena Seo, Minjun Kim and Tae-Jong Kim
Antibiotics 2024, 13(5), 469; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13050469 - 20 May 2024
Viewed by 272
Abstract
One way that bacteria develop antibiotic resistance is by reducing intracellular antibiotic concentrations through efflux pumps. Therefore, enhancing the efficacy of antibiotics using efflux pump inhibitors provides a way to overcome this type of resistance. Notably, an increasing number of pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus [...] Read more.
One way that bacteria develop antibiotic resistance is by reducing intracellular antibiotic concentrations through efflux pumps. Therefore, enhancing the efficacy of antibiotics using efflux pump inhibitors provides a way to overcome this type of resistance. Notably, an increasing number of pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus strains have efflux pump genes. In this study, the extract from Corydalis ternata Nakai tuber (Corydalis Tuber) at 512 mg/L was demonstrated to have an antibiotic synergistic effect with ciprofloxacin at 2 mg/L and tobramycin at 1024 mg/L against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid identified in Corydalis Tuber, was identified as contributing to this effect. Ethidium bromide efflux pump activity assays showed that Corydalis Tuber extract and berberine inhibited efflux, suggesting that they are efflux pump inhibitors. Molecular docking simulations suggested that berberine binds to S. aureus efflux pump proteins MepA, NorA, NorB, and SdrM. Additionally, berberine and Corydalis Tuber extract inhibit biofilm formation, which can confer antibiotic resistance. This study’s findings suggest that Corydalis Tuber, a traditional herbal medicine, and berberine, a medicinal supplement, act as S. aureus efflux pump inhibitors, synergistically increasing the efficacy of ciprofloxacin and tobramycin and showing promise as a treatment for antibiotic-resistant S. aureus infections, including MRSA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Natural Products: Potential Antimicrobial Targets)
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