Project description:Plants have a long history of use for their medicinal properties. The complexity of botanical extracts presents unique challenges and necessitates the application of innovative approaches to correctly identify and quantify bioactive compounds. With this study, we employed untargeted metabolomics to explore the antimicrobial activity of the botanical Rumex crispus (yellow dock), a member of the Polygonaceae family that is used as an herbal remedy for bacterial infections. Ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass-spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was used to identify and quantify the known antimicrobial compound emodin. In addition, we used biochemometric approaches to integrate data measuring antimicrobial activity from R. crispus root starting material and fractions against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with UPLC-MS data. Our results support the hypothesis that multiple constituents, including the anthraquinone emodin, contribute to the antimicrobial activity of R. crispus against MRSA.
Project description:Biofilms are sessile microbial communities that are often resistant to conventional antimicrobial therapeutics and the host immune system. Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast and responsible for candidiasis. It readily colonizes host tissues and implant devices, and forms biofilms, which play an important role in pathogenesis and drug resistance. Its morphological transition from budding yeast to hyphal form and subsequent biofilm formation is regarded as the crucial factor for drug tolerance and virulence of Candida infections. In this study, nepodin (also called musizin) from Rumex japonicus root was investigated for antibiofilm, antihyphae, and antivirulence activities against fluconazole-resistant C. albicans strain. Nepodin at 2 µg/ml from Rumex plant effectively inhibited C. albicans biofilm formation by more than 90% but had no effect on planktonic cell growth. Also, Rumex root extract and nepodin inhibited hyphal growth and cell aggregation of C. albicans. Interestingly, nepodin also showed antibiofilm activity against Staphylococcus aureus or A. baumannii strains and two systems of dual biofilms of C. albicans and S. aureus or A. baumannii, respectively. Transcriptomic analysis using RNA-seq and qRT-PCR showed nepodin repressed the expressions of several hypha/biofilm related genes (ECE1, HWP1, and UME6) and overexpressed several transport genes (CDR4, CDR11, IFD6, and TPO2), which supported observed phenotypic changes.