Back to Nature: Medicinal Plants as Promising Sources for Antibacterial Drugs in the Post-Antibiotic Era

Abstract

Undoubtedly, the advent of antibiotics in the 19th century had a substantial impact, increasing human life expectancy. However, a multitude of scientific investigations now indicate that we are currently experiencing a phase known as the post-antibiotic era. There is a genuine concern that we might regress to a time before antibiotics and confront widespread outbreaks of severe epidemic diseases, particularly those caused by bacterial infections. These investigations have demonstrated that epidemics thrive under environmental stressors such as climate change, the depletion of natural resources, and detrimental human activities such as wars, conflicts, antibiotic overuse, and pollution. Moreover, bacteria possess a remarkable ability to adapt and mutate. Unfortunately, the current development of antibiotics is insufficient, and the future appears grim unless we abandon our current approach of generating synthetic antibiotics that rapidly lose their effectiveness against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Despite their vital role in modern medicine, medicinal plants have served as the primary source of curative drugs since ancient times. Numerous scientific reports published over the past three decades suggest that medicinal plants could serve as a promising alternative to ineffective antibiotics in combating infectious diseases. Over the past few years, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, saponins, and terpenoids have exhibited noteworthy antibacterial potential, primarily through membrane-disruption mechanisms, protein binding, interference with intermediary metabolism, anti-quorum sensing, and anti-biofilm activity. However, to optimize their utilization as effective antibacterial drugs, further advancements in omics technologies and network pharmacology will be required in order to identify optimal combinations among these compounds or in conjunction with antibiotics.

Effects of different addition levels of CHM-JM113 on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, organ index, and intestinal health of AA broilers

“…Several studies have demonstrated that thyme, Astragalus, tangerine peel, and dandelion have antioxidant and immune-promoting effects ( 38–40 ) and partially growth-promoting effects ( 24 ). Furthermore, the intricate and variability of the synergistic potential of plant extract combinations ( 41 ) may be a contributing factor to the lack of improvement in broiler growth performance in this experiment. The strain specificity of the host’s immune and gut health response to probiotics ( 42 ) may also be a contributing factor to the non-significant differences in growth performance in this experiment.…”

Recent Developments in Nanoparticle Formulations for Resveratrol Encapsulation as an Anticancer Agent

“…Plant-derived sources present an alternative reservoir of bioactive compounds with potential applications of therapeutic or prophylactic agents against various diseases [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. To date, 350,000 vascular plant species are known, and new species are discovered yearly [ 16 ].…”

Phytochemical Characterization and Antibacterial Activity of Albanian Juniperus communis and Juniperus oxycedrus Berries and Needle Leaves Extracts

“…The decrease in efficiency and rising concern regarding the application of synthetic substances, mainly related to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, have awoken the interest among research groups to investigate and utilize MAPs as substitutes. A synthetic substance is usually composed of a single main bioactive compound, while MAPs’ essential oils or extracts provide a wider range of bioactive compounds with a synergism mechanism against the application target [ 11 ].…”