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Antimicrobial Properties of Natural Products (Volume Ⅱ)

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 9483

Special Issue Editor


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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I have the great pleasure to invite you to contribute to the second edition of the Special Issue entitled “Antimicrobial Properties of Natural Products (Volume Ⅱ)”.

Indeed, the situation is still very worrying. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) continues to increase, all over the World. Having effective antimicrobial treatment to manage patients and treat infection is becoming more and more difficult, which unfortunately has resulted in an increase in the number of deaths. Thus, the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) AR Threats Report estimated that “More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result” [1]. There is therefore always an urgent need to search for new antimicrobial molecules. In addition, natural compounds with antimicrobial activities still appear as a potential source of new antimicrobial molecules, which has not been sufficiently explored.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the recent advances in research on natural products with antimicrobial properties (i.e., antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, etc.). This Special Issue may include original research articles and reviews on the antimicrobial properties of extracts, fractions, purified compounds, synergistic mixtures against bacteria, viruses or fungi encountered in human infectious diseases in order to identify promising natural compounds that could allow us to respond to the urgency of finding new antimicrobials.

[1] CDC. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2019. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/Biggest-Threats.html

Prof. Dr. Raphaël E. Duval
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

  • natural products
  • antimicrobials properties
  • bacteria
  • virus
  • fungi

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 912 KiB  
Article
Bioactive Compounds from P. pertomentellum That Regulate QS, Biofilm Formation and Virulence Factor Production of P. aeruginosa
by Lida V. Hernández-Moreno, Ludy C. Pabón-Baquero, Juliet A. Prieto-Rodriguez and Oscar J. Patiño-Ladino
Molecules 2023, 28(17), 6181; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28176181 - 22 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1350
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for many nosocomial infections. This bacterium uses Quorum Sensing (QS) to generate antimicrobial resistance (AMR) so its disruption is considered a novel approach. The current study describes the antibiofilm and QS inhibitory potential of extract and [...] Read more.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for many nosocomial infections. This bacterium uses Quorum Sensing (QS) to generate antimicrobial resistance (AMR) so its disruption is considered a novel approach. The current study describes the antibiofilm and QS inhibitory potential of extract and chemical components from Piper pertomentellum. The methodo- logy included the phytochemical study on the aerial part of the species, the determination of QS inhibition efficacy on Chromobacterium violaceum and the evaluation of the effect on biofilm formation and virulence factors on P. aeruginosa. The phytochemical study led to the isolation and identification of a new piperamide (ethyltembamide 1), together with four known amides (tembamide acetate 2, cepharadione B 3, benzamide 4 and tembamide 5). The results indicated that the ethanolic extract and some fractions reduced violacein production in C. violaceum, however, only the ethanolic extract caused inhibition of biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa on polystyrene microtiter plates. Finally, the investigation determined that molecules (15) inhibited the formation of biofilms (50% approximately), while compounds 24 can inhibit pyocyanin and elastase production (30–50% approximately). In this way, the study contributes to the determination of the potential of extract and chemical constituents from P pertomentellum to regulate the QS system in P. aeruginosa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Properties of Natural Products (Volume Ⅱ))
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16 pages, 2518 KiB  
Article
Structural Characterization, Cytotoxicity, and the Antifungal Mechanism of a Novel Peptide Extracted from Garlic (Allium sativa L.)
by Shuqin Li, Yajie Wang, Jingna Zhou, Jia Wang, Min Zhang and Haixia Chen
Molecules 2023, 28(7), 3098; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28073098 - 30 Mar 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1894
Abstract
Garlic (Allium sativa L.) is a traditional plant with antimicrobial activity. This study aimed to discover new antifungal peptides from garlic, identify their structure, and explore the antimicrobial mechanism. Peptides were separated by chromatography and identified by MALDI-TOF analysis. Structure and conformation [...] Read more.
Garlic (Allium sativa L.) is a traditional plant with antimicrobial activity. This study aimed to discover new antifungal peptides from garlic, identify their structure, and explore the antimicrobial mechanism. Peptides were separated by chromatography and identified by MALDI-TOF analysis. Structure and conformation were characterized by CD spectrum and NMR analysis. Mechanism studies were conducted by SEM, membrane depolarization, and transcriptomic analysis. The cytotoxicity to mammalian cells as well as drug resistance development ability were also evaluated. A novel antifungal peptide named NpRS with nine amino acids (RSLNLLMFR) was obtained. It was a kind of cationic peptide with a α-helix as the dominant conformation. NOESY correlation revealed a cyclization in the molecule. The peptide significantly inhibited the growth of Candida albicans. The mechanism study indicated that membrane destruction and the interference of ribosome-related pathways might be the main mechanisms of antifungal effects. In addition, the resistance gene CDR1 for azole was down-regulated and the drug resistance was hardly developed in 21 days by the serial passage study. The present study identified a novel antifungal garlic peptide with low toxicity and provided new mechanism information for the peptide at the gene expression level to counter drug resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Properties of Natural Products (Volume Ⅱ))
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14 pages, 1083 KiB  
Article
Correlation between Chemical Profile of Georgian Propolis Extracts and Their Activity against Helicobacter pylori
by Jarosław Widelski, Piotr Okińczyc, Katarzyna Suśniak, Anna Malm, Anna Bozhadze, Malkhaz Jokhadze and Izabela Korona-Głowniak
Molecules 2023, 28(3), 1374; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28031374 - 01 Feb 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2281
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is considered the most common bacterial pathogen colonizing stomach mucosa of almost half the world’s population and is associated with various gastrointestinal diseases (from digestive problems and ulcers to gastric cancer). A lack of new drugs and [...] Read more.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is considered the most common bacterial pathogen colonizing stomach mucosa of almost half the world’s population and is associated with various gastrointestinal diseases (from digestive problems and ulcers to gastric cancer). A lack of new drugs and a growing number of H. pylori antibiotic-resistant strains is a serious therapeutic problem.As a mixture of natural compounds, propolis has antimicrobial activity based on high concentrations of bioactive polyphenols (mainly flavonoids and phenolic acid derivates). The chemical composition of tested Georgian propolis is characterized by the presence of flavonoids aglycones, and phenolic acid monoesters, e.g., pinobanksin-5-methyl ether, pinobanksin, chrysin, pinocembrin, galangin, pinobanksin-3-O-acetate, pinostrobin and pinobanksin-3-O-butanoate, or isobutanoate and methoxycinnamic acid cinnamyl ester. The anti-H. pylori activity of 70% ethanol water extracts of 10 Georgian propolis samples was evaluated in vitro by MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) against the reference strain (H. pylori ATCC 43504) and 10 clinical strains with different antibiotic-resistance patterns. The strongest anti-Helicobacter activity (MIC and MBC = 31.3 µg/mL) was observed for propolis from Orgora, Ota, and Vardzia and two from Khaheti. Lower levels of activity (MIC = 62.5 µg/mL) were found in propolis obtained from Qvakhreli and Pasanauri, while the lowest effect was observed for Norio and Mestia (MIC = 125.0 µg/mL). However, despite differences in MIC, all evaluated samples exhibited bactericidal activity. We selected the most active propolis samples for assessment of urease inhibition property. Enzyme activity was inhibited by propolis extracts, with IC50 ranging from 4.01 to 1484.8 µg/mL. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical fuzzy clustering (dendrograms) coupled with matrix correlation analysis exhibited that the strongest anti-Helicobacter activity was connected with black poplar origin and high flavonoid content of propolis. Samples with lower activity contained higher presence of aspen markers and/or dominance of non-flavonoid polyphenols over flavonoids. In summary, Georgian propolis can be regarded as a source bioactive compounds that can be used as adjuvant in therapy of H. pylori infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Properties of Natural Products (Volume Ⅱ))
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18 pages, 1137 KiB  
Article
First Evidence of a Combination of Terpinen-4-ol and α-Terpineol as a Promising Tool against ESKAPE Pathogens
by Bianca Johansen, Raphaël E. Duval and Jean-Christophe Sergere
Molecules 2022, 27(21), 7472; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27217472 - 02 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2070
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health issue raising growing concern in the face of dwindling response options. It is therefore urgent to find new anti-infective molecules enabling us to fight effectively against ever more numerous bacterial infections caused by ever more antibiotic-resistant [...] Read more.
Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health issue raising growing concern in the face of dwindling response options. It is therefore urgent to find new anti-infective molecules enabling us to fight effectively against ever more numerous bacterial infections caused by ever more antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this quest for new antibacterials, essential oils (or compounds extracted from essential oils) appear to be a promising therapeutic option. In the present work, we investigate the potential antibacterial synergy between a combination of terpinen-4-ol and α-terpineol (10:1) compared to standard tea tree oil. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined. Then, time kill assays, in vitro cytotoxicity and bactericidal activity on latent bacteria (persisters) were investigated. Finally, an in silico study of the pharmacokinetic parameters of α-terpineol was also performed. Altogether, our data demonstrate that the combination of terpinen-4-ol and α-terpineol might be a precious weapon to address ESKAPE pathogens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Properties of Natural Products (Volume Ⅱ))
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Review

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18 pages, 2707 KiB  
Review
Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from Fungi of the Genus Cytospora Ehrenb. (Ascomycota)
by Boris Yotta Kianfé, Joseph Tchamgoue, Abolfazl Narmani, Rémy Bertrand Teponno, André-Ledoux Njouonkou, Marc Stadler and Simeon Fogue Kouam
Molecules 2023, 28(7), 3120; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28073120 - 31 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1500
Abstract
Cytospora is a genus of fungi belonging to the Cytosporaceae family (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota) considered as a prolific source of specialized metabolites due to their ability to produce diverse secondary metabolites with a broad range of biological activities. Since the first chemical investigation of [...] Read more.
Cytospora is a genus of fungi belonging to the Cytosporaceae family (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota) considered as a prolific source of specialized metabolites due to their ability to produce diverse secondary metabolites with a broad range of biological activities. Since the first chemical investigation of this genus in the 1980s, further studies have led to the isolation and structural elucidation of several bioactive compounds including cytosporones, nonanolides, macrocyclic dilactones, and terpenoids. This review summarizes, for the first time, the chemical diversity of bioactive secondary metabolites from the genus Cytospora and highlights its potential as an alternative source of secondary metabolites for pharmacological studies. Moreover, this review will serve as a basis for future investigations of compounds of this genus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Properties of Natural Products (Volume Ⅱ))
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