The mechanism of action of sanguinarine against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

Sanguinarine is a benzophenanthridine alkaloid derived from the root of Sanguinaria canadensis. It is known to perform a wide spectrum of biological activities. The aim of this study is to examine the antimicrobial actions of sanguinarine against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Sanguinarine antimicrobial activity was assessed by broth dilution method; its mechanism of action was investigated by bacteriolysis, detergent or ATPase inhibitors and transmission electron microscopy were used to monitor the survival characteristics and the changes in bacteria morphology. The activity of sanguinarine against MRSA strains ranged from 3.12 to 6.25 µg/ml, while the minimum inhibitory concentrations of the two reference strains are 3.12 µg/ml and 1.56 µg/ml. The treatment of the cells with sanguinarine induced the release of membrane-bound cell wall autolytic enzymes, which eventually resulted in lysis of the cell. The OD(600s) of the suspensions treated with the combination of Tris-(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane and Triton X-100 with sanguinarine were reduced to 40% and 8%, respectively. Transmission electron microsco-py of MRSA treated with sanguinarine showed alterations in septa formation. The predisposition of lysis and the altered morphology seen by transmission electron microscopy suggest that sanguinarine compromises the cytoplasmic membrane.

Regulation of Specialized Metabolism by WRKY Transcription Factors

“…In Arabidopsis, camalexin has antifungal properties and aids defense against pathogens including Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria brassicicola, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Thomma et al, 1999;Ferrari et al, 2007;Stotz et al, 2011). Berberine, catharanthine, gossypol, momilactones, phytocassanes, and sanguinarine also have antimicrobial properties and confer tolerance to plant pathogens (Stermitz et al, 2000;Puckhaber et al, 2002;Umemura et al, 2003;Fukuta et al, 2007;Roepke et al, 2010;Obiang-Obounou et al, 2011). In addition to the involvement in auxin signaling (Brown et al, 2001;Buer and Muday, 2004), flavonols are protectants against UV light stress (Li et al, 1993;Bieza and Lois, 2001;Emiliani et al, 2013) and herbivores (Wuyts et al, 2006a;Onkokesung et al, 2014).…”

Medicinal plants in the treatment ofHelicobacter pyloriinfections

“…It is known that sanguinarine, a benzophenanthridine alkaloid derived from the root of S. canadensis, performs a wide spectrum of biological activities such as antimicrobial (Obiang-Obounou et al, 2011) and antiinflammatory effects (Bojjireddy et al, 2013). Native American Indians used hot water extracts of S. canadensi for the treatment of a variety of disorders including indigestion, dyspepsia, and gastritis.…”

Reconstitution of a 10-gene pathway for synthesis of the plant alkaloid dihydrosanguinarine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

“…Sanguinarine is a BIA with recognized antimicrobial activities and potential as an antineoplastic drug 23,24 . The last steps in sanguinarine biosynthesis were recently elucidated, laying the groundwork for complete synthesis of this molecule in a heterologous host [25][26][27] .…”