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Natural Products and Microbiology in Human Health

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 2294

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ian Edwin Cock

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Guest Editor

Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Interests: biochemistry and cell biology; microbiology; cancer; inflammation; drug discovery; natural products; ethnobotany
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human health is closely linked to microbial exposure, and to the maintenance of the microbiome. Pathogenic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses cause a myriad of diseases that may seriously impact human health. The use of chemotherapies to combat these diseases has long relied upon traditional medicines and natural products. Indeed, penicillin (and the majority of other first-generation antibiotics) were initially identified as bacterial and fungal natural products, used by microbes to provide a competitive advantage over other cells in their environment. A large portion of the antibiotics produced as second and third-generation antibiotics were based on the chemical scaffolds of the first-generation natural product antibiotics. Notably, even before the development of current antibiotic therapies, natural medicines containing bioactive natural products were used to combat pathogenic diseases. Plant-based medicines were particularly important in this respect and continue to be important in many regions of the world. With the recent development of multiple antibiotic-resistant pathogens, the discovery of novel antibiotic therapies is a priority for medical science and natural products are promising as new drug leads.

Natural products and the microbiome may also impact human health in other fundamental ways. The human microbiome comprises a myriad of bacteria and archaea, protozoa, fungi, and viruses, both within and outside our bodies. Alterations in the natural microbial balance may affect human health via disease induction. Microbiome dysbiosis increases the host’s susceptibility to disease by allowing pathogenic microbes to flourish and out-compete the beneficial microflora. Natural products may also function as pre- or probiotics, allowing the natural microflora and beneficial microbes to dominate, thereby inhibiting the growth of pathogens. Therefore, natural products can also influence human health by modulating the human microbiome.

We invite the submission of original research and review articles focusing on natural products and microbiology and their effects on human health. Potential topics include but are not limited to:

The antimicrobial activity of natural products.
Identification of natural products with antimicrobial activity.
Plant-derived natural products and their effects on microbes important to human health.
Microbial-derived natural products and their effects on microbes important to human health.
Natural products derived from marine organisms and their effects on microbes important to human health.
Antibacterial activity of natural products against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Potentiation of antibiotic (or probiotic) activity by natural products.
Modulation of the human microbiome and disease induction by natural products and traditional medicines.
Microbiome dysbiosis (or microbiome maintenance) induced by natural products, and its effects on human health.
Natural products as nutritional factors and antioxidants in maintaining gastrointestinal microbial homeostasis and human health.
Natural products as probiotics (and/or prebiotics) and their affects on human health.

Dr. Ian Edwin Cock
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. 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

traditional medicine
antibiotics
antibiotic natural products
probiotics
novel antimicrobial therapies
microbial toxins
phytochemicals
antibiotic-resistant bacteria
drug potentiation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 3824 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Antibiofilm Activity of Combretum micranthum G. Don Catechin–Sugar Phytocomplex on Pseudomonas aeruginosa

by Viviana Teresa Orlandi, Fabrizio Bolognese, Luca Chiodaroli, Ilaria Armenia, Enrico Caruso and Miryam Chiara Malacarne

Molecules 2024, 29(9), 2091; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29092091 - 01 May 2024

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Abstract

Clinicians often have to face infections caused by microorganisms that are difficult to eradicate due to their resistance and/or tolerance to antimicrobials. Among these pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes chronic infections due to its ability to form biofilms on medical devices, skin wounds, ulcers and the lungs of patients with Cystic Fibrosis. In this scenario, the plant world represents an important reservoir of natural compounds with antimicrobial and/or antibiofilm properties. In this study, an extract from the leaves of Combretum micranthum G. Don, named Cm4-p, which was previously investigated for its antimicrobial activities, was assayed for its capacity to inhibit biofilm formation and/or to eradicate formed biofilms. The model strain P. aeruginosa PAO1 and its isogenic biofilm hyperproducer derivative B13 were treated with Cm4-p. Preliminary IR, UV-vis, NMR, and mass spectrometry analyses showed that the extract was mainly composed of catechins bearing different sugar moieties. The phytocomplex (3 g/L) inhibited the biofilm formation of both the PAO1 and B13 strains in a significant manner. In light of the obtained results, Cm4-p deserves deeper investigations of its potential in the antimicrobial field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products and Microbiology in Human Health)

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15 pages, 3012 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Beneficial Effects of Dietary Fiber in Young Barley Leaf on Gut Microbiota and Immunity in Mice

by Seita Chudan, Takuto Kurakawa, Miyu Nishikawa, Yoshinori Nagai, Yoshiaki Tabuchi, Shinichi Ikushiro and Yukihiro Furusawa

Molecules 2024, 29(8), 1897; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29081897 - 22 Apr 2024

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Abstract

The health benefits of young barley leaves, rich in dietary fiber, have been studied for several decades; however, their beneficial effects on the intestinal microenvironment remain to be elucidated. To investigate the effects of young barley leaf-derived dietary fiber (YB) on the gut microbiota and immunity, mice were fed an AIN-93G diet containing cellulose or YB and subjected to subsequent analysis. The population of MHC-II-positive conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) and CD86 expression in the cDCs of Peyer’s patches were elevated in the YB-fed mice. MHC-II and CD86 expression was also elevated in the bone marrow-derived DCs treated with YB. 16S-based metagenomic analysis revealed that the gut microbiota composition was markedly altered by YB feeding. Among the gut microbiota, Lachnospiraceae, mainly comprising butyrate-producing NK4A136 spp., were overrepresented in the YB-fed mice. In fact, fecal butyrate concentration was also augmented in the YB-fed mice, which coincided with increased retinaldehyde dehydrogenase (RALDH) activity in the CD103⁺ cDCs of the mesenteric lymph nodes. Consistent with elevated RALDH activity, the population of colonic IgA⁺ plasma cells was higher in the YB-fed mice than in the parental control mice. In conclusion, YB has beneficial effects on the gut microbiota and intestinal immune system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products and Microbiology in Human Health)

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Review

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43 pages, 3286 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of the Antimicrobial Properties of Cyanobacterial Natural Products

by Ian E. Cock and Matthew J. Cheesman

Molecules 2023, 28(20), 7127; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28207127 - 17 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1256

Abstract

The development of multiple-drug-resistant pathogens has prompted medical research toward the development of new and effective antimicrobial therapies. Much research into novel antibiotics has focused on bacterial and fungal compounds, and on chemical modification of existing compounds to increase their efficacy or reactivate their antimicrobial properties. In contrast, cyanobacteria have been relatively overlooked for antibiotic discovery, and much more work is required. This may be because some cyanobacterial species produce environmental toxins, leading to concerns about the safety of cyanobacterial compounds in therapy. Despite this, several cyanobacterial-derived compounds have been identified with noteworthy inhibitory activity against bacterial, fungal and protozoal growth, as well as viral replication. Additionally, many of these compounds have relatively low toxicity and are therefore relevant targets for drug development. Of particular note, several linear and heterocyclic peptides and depsipeptides with potent activity and good safety indexes have been identified and are undergoing development as antimicrobial chemotherapies. However, substantial further studies are required to identify and screen the myriad other cyanobacterial-derived compounds to evaluate their therapeutic potential. This study reviews the known phytochemistry of cyanobacteria, and where relevant, the effects of those compounds against bacterial, fungal, protozoal and viral pathogens, with the aim of highlighting gaps in the literature and focusing future studies in this field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products and Microbiology in Human Health)

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