Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/103290
Author(s): | Anabela Borges Ana Cristina Abreu Carla Dias Maria José Saavedra Fernanda Borges Manuel Simões |
Title: | New Perspectives on the Use of Phytochemicals as an Emergent Strategy to Control Bacterial Infections Including Biofilms |
Issue Date: | 2016 |
Abstract: | The majority of current infectious diseases are almost untreatable by conventional antibiotic therapy given the advent of multidrug-resistant bacteria. The degree of severity and the persistence of infections are worsened when microorganisms form biofilms. Therefore, efforts are being applied to develop new drugs not as vulnerable as the current ones to bacterial resistance mechanisms, and also able to target bacteria in biofilms. Natural products, especially those obtained from plants, have proven to be outstanding compounds with unique properties, making them perfect candidates for these much-needed therapeutics. This review presents the current knowledge on the potentialities of plant products as antibiotic adjuvants to restore the therapeutic activity of drugs. Further, the difficulties associated with the use of the existing antibiotics in the treatment of biofilm-related infections are described. To counteract the biofilm resistance problems, innovative strategies are suggested based on literature data. Among the proposed strategies, the use of phytochemicals to inhibit or eradicate biofilms is highlighted. An overview on the use of phytochemicals to interfere with bacterial quorum sensing (QS) signaling pathways and underlying phenotypes is provided. The use of phytochemicals as chelating agents and efflux pump inhibitors is also reviewed. |
Subject: | Ciências da Saúde, Ciências da engenharia e tecnologias, Ciências médicas e da saúde Health sciences, Engineering and technology, Medical and Health sciences |
Scientific areas: | Ciências da engenharia e tecnologias Engineering and technology Ciências médicas e da saúde Medical and Health sciences |
URI: | https://hdl.handle.net/10216/103290 |
Related Information: | info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Projetos Estratégicos/UID/EQU/00511/2013 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006939/Laboratório de Engenharia de Processos, Ambiente, Biotecnologia e Energia/LEPABE |
Document Type: | Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional |
Rights: | openAccess |
Appears in Collections: | FCUP - Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional FEUP - Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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153184.pdf | Artigo original publicado | 2.26 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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