Multidrug Resistance among Microbes

The occurrence of microbial infection has expanded significantly over the past few decades. Persistent use of antimicrobial medications in treating contaminations has driven the development of resistance among the different microbial strains. Multidrug resistance (MDR) is characterized as insensitivity or resistance of a microorganism to the directed antimicrobial medicines (Singh, 2013, Tanwar et al., 2014). As shown by the world health organization, most of the microorganisms which include Escherichia coli against antibiotics as cephalosporin and fluoroquinolones, Klebsiella pneumoniae against cephalosporin and carbapenems, Staphylococcus aureus against methicillin, Streptococcus pneumonia against penicillin, Nontyphoidal Salmonella against fluoroquinolones, Shigella species against fluoroquinolones, Neisseria gonorrhoeae against cephalosporin, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis against rifampicin, isoniazid, and fluoroquinolone have developed the drug resistance, which prompts them incapable for the treatment of various diseases (WHO, 2014, Nascimento et al., 2000). Therefore, if resistance to treatment continues to spread at such a high rate, our world may find itself back in the dark ages of medicine, before new drugs will ever be discovered. Therefore, moves must be made to decrease this issue, for instance, to control the utilization of antibiotics, research should be carried out for better understanding the hereditary pathways of resistance, and to proceed a study for the development of new medications, either engineered or natural. A definitive objective is to offer suitable and effective antimicrobial medications to the patient (Nascimento et al., 2000). Approximately 3000 plant species are already known to have medicinal properties in India. The planned screening of plant extracts represents a persistent urge to discover new compounds with the potential to act against MDR microbes.

Many researchers throughout the world have performed antimicrobial testing on many medicinally important plants. As per the World Health Organization, medically important plants would be the best source to get a wide range of drugs (Sukanya et al., 2009). Antimicrobial properties in plants are credited to the presence of a lively mixture of compounds like quinones, phenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, fundamental oil, tannins, lignans, glucosinolates, etc (Chandra et al., 2017). More studies are concentrated on the leaves of plants because they contain secondary metabolites which are found to be bioactive (Mujeeb et al., 2014). Reports of C. procera having analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor properties are already there (Silva et al., 2010, Shrivastva et al., 2013). The plant releases latex upon damage which indicates that it’s a defense mechanism against various microbes. The latex is reported to be nontoxic upto a dose of 830 mg per kg of body weight and the latex has LD50 of 3g/kg of body weight (Neenah and Ahmed, 2011). On the other hand, Aegle marmelos which is commonly known as Bael has been used traditionally for the treatment of many diseases, almost all parts of plants like fruits, stems, bark, and leaves are used to treat skin and eye infections (Mujeeb et al., 2014).

Therefore, it would be of prime interest to investigate plants for their antifungal and antibacterial activities. One such plant is the berry fruit which can be used for its antimicrobial activity and their bio-protective effect as it is the selective inhibitor of some pathogens and promoter of some beneficial microorganisms. Fruit berries could be part of the dietary process and its effects depend on pH and nutrients conditions for their efficacy (1). Raspberry cordial and blackcurrant cordial inhibits the yeast (Candida albicans) and other dozens of bacteria (such as Mycobacterium phlei) regardless of their gram staining status (2). The effects of phytochemicals present in fruit berries on microbial agents ranges from inhibiting enteric pathogenic bacteria, gut bacteria to the stimulatory effect on beneficial intestinal microflora growth (3,4,5). The molecular mechanism behind modulatory effect of fruit berry includes structural damage (4) and targeting gene expression (6,7), metabolism (8), cell membrane formation (9) of pathogen and their adhesion to urinary tract (10). There are different species of berries which differ in antimicrobial effect on selective pathogens or targets. Cranberry juice concentrated in Tryptic soy broth and agar disc limits the growth of P. aeruginosa, L. monocytogenes, E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium, S. aureus etc (5, 11, 12). Blueberry juice concentrated in ethanol and its leaf extracts downregulate the growth of L. monocytogenes, S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium, Campylobacter jejuni, L. monocytogenes, E. coli, S. aureus, L. innoca, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus, P. aeruginosa etc. (13, 14, 15, 16). Blackberry extract in Brucella broth-bovine serum and in liquid culture inhibits the growth of H. pylori, P. gingivalis, F. nucleatum, S. mutans, E. coli, S. typhimurium, L. monocytogenes etc. (17, 18, 19). Raspberry extract without sugar in liquid culture selectively inhibits the growth of S. typhimurium, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus etc (20, 21). Similarly strawberry extract in liquid culture with sugar removed selectively inhibits the growth of S. typhimurium, B. cereus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium perfringes, H. pylori etc. (20,).

Almost all current antibiotics known with clinical utility were identified during the so-called 'golden' era from 1940s to 1960s when extensive screening was done to identify bacterial inhibiting compounds. The subsequent improvement of these antibiotics, or compounds derived from them, has produced extensive reductions in the problem of disease imposed by bacterial infections.

References

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