article · Scientific Reports
Bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics has prompted interest in antipathogenic approaches such as quorum sensing inhibition, which prevents bacteria from coordinating virulence. Screening of Egyptian medicinal plants revealed that Mangifera indica exhibited the strongest quorum sensing inhibition against Chromobacterium violaceum. From this plant, four pure compounds were extracted, among which methyl gallate demonstrated the most potent activity. Testing across multiple strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa established a minimum inhibitory concentration of 512 units per millilitre. At sub-inhibitory concentrations of one-quarter and one-half this level, methyl gallate significantly reduced the expression of bacterial virulence factors without impacting bacterial viability. Molecular docking analysis further showed that methyl gallate interacts directly with the LasR receptor through three specific hydrogen bonds, highlighting its capacity to modulate bacterial communication pathways.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria present severe treatment challenges worldwide. Instead of killing bacteria directly, which often accelerates the emergence of drug resistance, targeting quorum sensing disarms their ability to produce harmful virulence factors. Demonstrating that a natural compound from mango can disrupt communication in Pseudomonas aeruginosa offers a promising foundation for developing alternative antipathogenic therapies to control resilient hospital-acquired infections.
This research provides early-stage laboratory evidence that methyl gallate could serve as a lead compound for antipathogenic drug development targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Potential beneficiaries include pharmaceutical and biotechnology developers seeking non-lethal virulence inhibitors that circumvent traditional resistance mechanisms. The work is currently restricted to in vitro assays and molecular docking models, meaning any real-world therapeutic application remains at a very early discovery stage.
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Antipathogenic drugs are a potential source of therapeutics, particularly following the emergence of multiple drug-resistant pathogenic microorganisms in the last decade. The inhibition of quorum sensing (QS) is an advanced antipathogenic approach for suppression of bacterial virulence and dissemination. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of some Egyptian medicinal plants on the QS signaling system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Among the tested plants, Mangifera indica exhibited the highest quorum sensing inhibition (QSI) activity against Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472. Four pure compounds were extracted and identified; of these, methyl gallate (MG) showed the most potent QSI. MG had a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 512 g/mL against P. aeruginosa strains PAO1, PA14, Pa21, Pa22, Pa23, Pa24, and PAO-JP2. The virulence factors of PAO1, PA14, Pa21, Pa22, Pa23, and Pa24 were significantly inhibited by MG at 1/4 and 1/2 sub-MICs without affecting bacterial viability. Computational insights were performed by docking the MG compound on the LasR receptor, and the QSI behavior of MG was found to be mediated by three hydrogen bonds: Trp60, Arg61, and Thr75. This study indicates the importance of M. indica and MG in the inhibition and modulation of QS and QS-related virulence factors in P. aeruginosa.
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DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44063-0
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