Does Secondary Plant Metabolite Ursolic Acid Exhibit Antibacterial Activity against Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Living in Single- and Multispecies Biofilms?

Abstract

Multispecies bacterial biofilms are the often cause of chronic recurrent urinary tract infections within the human population. Eradicating such a complex bacterial consortium with standard pharmacotherapy is often unsuccessful. Therefore, plant-derived compounds are currently being researched as an alternative strategy to antibiotic therapy for preventing bacterial biofilm formation and facilitating its eradication. Therefore, our research aimed to determine the effect of secondary plant metabolite ursolic acid (UA) on the growth and survival, the quantity of exopolysaccharides formed, metabolic activity, and morphology of uropathogenic Gram-negative rods living in single- and mixed-species biofilms at various stages of their development. Spectrophotometric methods were used for biofilm mass formation and metabolic activity determination. The survival of bacteria was established using the serial dilution assay. The decrease in survival and inhibition of biofilm creation, both single- and multispecies, as well as changes in the morphology of bacterial cells were noticed. As UA exhibited better activity against young biofilms, the use of UA-containing formulations, especially during the initial steps of urinary tract infection, seems to be reasonable. However, the future direction should be a thorough understanding of the mechanisms of UA activity as a bioactive substance.

The biological function of the type II toxin-antitoxin system ccdAB in recurrent urinary tract infections

“…Biofilms at infection sites, or those contaminated with biological materials, are notoriously difficult to eradicate, even with high doses of antibiotics. This resilience contributes significantly to recurrent infections ( Sycz et al, 2022 ). Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), as suggested in animal models, is particularly susceptible to biofilm formation at the renal proximal tubule ( Melican et al, 2011 ).…”

The Antibiofilm Effects of Antimony Tin Oxide Nanoparticles against Polymicrobial Biofilms of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus

“…Moreover, dual-species biofilms formed by UPEC and S. aureus have been reported to be responsible for catheter-associated UTIs [ 7 , 8 ]. However, despite the well-established link between bacteria and UTIs, few studies have explored the system of dual-species biofilms [ 9 , 10 ].…”