Reversal of heavy metal-induced antibiotic resistance by dandelion root extracts and taraxasterol

Abstract

<jats:p> <jats:bold>Introduction.</jats:bold> Metal exposure is an important factor for inducing antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Dandelion extracts have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese and Native American medicine.</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Aim.</jats:bold> We assessed the effects of dandelion water extracts and taraxasterol on heavy metal-induced antibiotic resistance in <jats:italic> <jats:named-content content-type="species"> <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://doi.org/10.1601/nm.3093" xlink:type="simple">Escherichia coli</jats:ext-link> </jats:named-content> </jats:italic> as well as the underlying mechanisms.</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Methodology.</jats:bold> Dandelion extracts were obtained through 4 h of boiling in distilled water. Bacterial growth was monitored with a spectrophotometer. Biochemical assays were performed to assess the activities and gene transcriptions of β-lactamase and acetyltransferase. Oxidative stress was determined using an oxidation-sensitive probe, H<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>DCFDA.</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Results.</jats:bold> The present study demonstrated that higher concentrations of nickel (&gt;5 µg ml<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>), cadmium (&gt;0.1 µg ml<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>), arsenic (&gt;0.1 µg ml<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>) and copper (&gt;5 µg ml<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>) significantly inhibited the growth of <jats:italic> <jats:named-content content-type="species"> <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://doi.org/10.1601/nm.3093" xlink:type="simple">E. coli</jats:ext-link> </jats:named-content> </jats:italic>. Lower concentrations of nickel (0.5 µg ml<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>), cadmium (0.05 µg ml<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>) and arsenic (0.05 µg ml<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>) had no effect on bacterial growth, but helped the bacteria become resistant to two antibiotics, kanamycin and ampicillin. The addition of dandelion root extracts and taraxasterol significantly reversed the antibiotic resistance induced by these heavy metals. The supplements of antibiotics and cadmium generated synergistic effects on the activities of β-lactamase and acetyltransferase (two antibiotic resistance-related proteins), which were significantly blocked by either dandelion root extract or taraxasterol. In contrast, oxidative stress was not involved in the preventative roles of dandelion root extracts and taraxasterol in heavy metal-induced antibiotic resistance.</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:bold>Conclusion.</jats:bold> This study suggests that heavy metals induce bacterial antibiotic resistance and dandelion root extracts and taraxasterol could be used to help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics.</jats:p>

Heavy metal-induced selection and proliferation of antibiotic resistance: A review

“…Another study suggested the use of dandelion root extracts and taraxasterol for the reversal of metal (Cd, Ni, As) induced ampicillin and kanamycin resistance in E. coli cells (Yang and Zhang, 2020). While treatment of E. coli cells with low concentrations of Dandelion root extract alone did not seem to show any antimicrobial activity, the addition of kanamycin and ampicillin along with the heavy metals and the root extracts significantly reduced the bacterial growth, indicating that dandelion root extracts can be effective modulators against metal‐induced antibiotic resistance.…”

Research progress of anti-tumor active ingredients in Dandelion

“…In addition to the illustrated active ingredients above, the whole dandelion herb harbors amaroid, resin, synanthrin, pectin and etc [35,36] . β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, linoleic acid were identified in dandelion root, and xanthophyll, phylloquinone, γ-aminobutyric acid, sulfonyl amino acids, ornithine acid in dandelion leaf, and capretin, sarcochediol, lutein in dandelion blossom, and β-sitosterol, folate in pollen [28,29,37] . A total of 66 trace elements have been detected in dandelion and among those Cd, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn and Mo essential trace elements are higher in contents [38] (Chinese paper with DOI: 10.3969/ j. issn.1006-0111.2002.04.026).…”

Antifungal activity and potential mechanism of berberine hydrochloride against fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans

“…In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been found to alleviate or even diminish bacterial resistance to antibiotics, which provides researchers with a new strategy for solving the serious problem of increased antibiotic resistance commonly seen in clinical practice [13,14]. Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid with extensive biological activity; it is extracted from a variety of plant taxa such as Berberis sargentiana Schneid, Coptis chinensis, and Philodendron.…”