Life (Oct 2022)

Natural Strategies as Potential Weapons against Bacterial Biofilms

  • Syeda Tasmia Asma,
  • Kálmán Imre,
  • Adriana Morar,
  • Mirela Imre,
  • Ulas Acaroz,
  • Syed Rizwan Ali Shah,
  • Syed Zajif Hussain,
  • Damla Arslan-Acaroz,
  • Fatih Ramazan Istanbullugil,
  • Khodir Madani,
  • Christos Athanassiou,
  • Alexander Atanasoff,
  • Doru Morar,
  • Viorel Herman,
  • Kui Zhu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101618
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 10
p. 1618

Abstract

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Microbial biofilm is an aggregation of microbial species that are either attached to surfaces or organized into an extracellular matrix. Microbes in the form of biofilms are highly resistant to several antimicrobials compared to planktonic microbial cells. Their resistance developing ability is one of the major root causes of antibiotic resistance in health sectors. Therefore, effective antibiofilm compounds are required to treat biofilm-associated health issues. The awareness of biofilm properties, formation, and resistance mechanisms facilitate researchers to design and develop combating strategies. This review highlights biofilm formation, composition, major stability parameters, resistance mechanisms, pathogenicity, combating strategies, and effective biofilm-controlling compounds. The naturally derived products, particularly plants, have demonstrated significant medicinal properties, producing them a practical approach for controlling biofilm-producing microbes. Despite providing effective antibiofilm activities, the plant-derived antimicrobial compounds may face the limitations of less bioavailability and low concentration of bioactive molecules. The microbes-derived and the phytonanotechnology-based antibiofilm compounds are emerging as an effective approach to inhibit and eliminate the biofilm-producing microbes.

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