The search for antimicrobial agents effective against bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics

Chopra, Ian; Hodgson, John; Metcalf, Brian W.; Poste, George

doi:10.1128/aac.41.3.497

Cited by 165 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…This is due to a number of reasons, including the changing spectrum of pathogens, antibiotic resistance in pathogens (Cassell 1997;Culotta 1994;Travis 1994), immunocompromising treatments, and immunodeficiency diseases (Zaehner and Fiedler 1995). To meet the continued demand for new antibiotics against the resistant pathogens (Chopra et al 1997), screening efforts need to be continued. Contrary to this need, antibiotic screening, particularly from actinomycetes, has stagnated.…”

Section: Diminishing Returns From Streptomyces Screeningmentioning

confidence: 99%

How many antibiotics are produced by the genus Streptomyces ?

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et al. 2001

Archives of Microbiology

779

497

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Streptomyces is the largest antibiotic-producing genus in the microbial world discovered so far. The number of antimicrobial compounds reported from the species of this genus per year increased almost exponentially for about two decades, followed by a steady rise to reach a peak in the 1970s, and with a substantial decline in the late 1980s and 1990s. The cumulative number shows a sigmoid curve that is much flatter than what a logistic equation would predict. We attempted to fit a mathematical model to this curve in order to estimate the number of undiscovered antimicrobials from this genus as well as to predict the trends in the near future. A model assuming that the screening efforts are encouraged by a previous year's success and that the probability of finding a new antibiotic is a function of the fraction of antibiotics undiscovered so far offered a good fit after optimizing parameters. The model estimated the total number of antimicrobial compounds that this genus is capable of producing to be of the order of a 100,000 - a tiny fraction of which has been unearthed so far. The decline in the slope appeared to be due to a decline in screening efforts rather than an exhaustion of compounds. Left to itself, the slope will become zero in the next one or two decades, but if the screening efforts are maintained constant, the rate of discovery of new compounds will not decline for several decades to come.

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Section: Diminishing Returns From Streptomyces Screeningmentioning

confidence: 99%

How many antibiotics are produced by the genus Streptomyces ?

Watve

Tickoo

Jog

et al. 2001

Archives of Microbiology

779

497

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The use of antibiotics has revolutionized the treatment of various bacterial infections. However, their indiscriminate use has led to an alarming increase in antibiotic resistance among microorganisms [1], thus necessitating the need for development of novel antimicrobials [2]. Recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in exploring natural resources for developing such compounds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antibacterial activity of some Indian medicinal plants

2007

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Aqueous extracts of ten medicinal plants were examined for their antibacterial potential against some reference strains of human pathogenic bacteria. Anethum graveolens, Elettaria cardamomum, Foeniculum vulgare, Trachyspermum ammi and Viola odorata were found to be better/equally effective compared to standard antibiotics. V. odorata was the most effective antibacterial with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 1 to 2%. The results provide a scientific basis for the centuries-old usage of aqueous extracts of these medicinal plants.

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“…This recommendation will likely lead to dwindling use of these agents in the treatment of infections caused by Enterobacteriaceae and an increased use of a select few alternative antimicrobials, i.e. piperacillin-tazobactam and carbapenems [6,7]. This in turn could contribute to evolving resistance to these drugs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%