Biofilm-Associated Agr and Sar Quorum Sensing Systems of Staphylococcus aureus Are Inhibited by 3‑Hydroxybenzoic Acid Derived from Illicium verum

Biofilm-producing Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is less sensitive to conventional antibiotics than free-living planktonic cells. Here, we evaluated the antibiofilm activity of Illicium verum (I. verum) and one of its constituent compounds 3-hydroxybenzoic acid (3-HBA) against multi-drug-resistan...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inACS omega Vol. 7; no. 17; pp. 14653 - 14665
Main Authors Ganesh, Pitchaipillai Sankar, Veena, Krishnamurthy, Senthil, Renganathan, Iswamy, Koneti, Ponmalar, Esaki Muthu, Mariappan, Vanitha, Girija, A. S. Smiline, Vadivelu, Jamuna, Nagarajan, Samuthira, Challabathula, Dinakar, Shankar, Esaki Muthu
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Chemical Society 03.05.2022
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

Loading…
More Information
Summary:Biofilm-producing Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is less sensitive to conventional antibiotics than free-living planktonic cells. Here, we evaluated the antibiofilm activity of Illicium verum (I. verum) and one of its constituent compounds 3-hydroxybenzoic acid (3-HBA) against multi-drug-resistant S. aureus. We performed gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) to identify the major constituents in the methanolic extract of I. verum. Ligand–receptor interactions were studied by molecular docking, and in vitro investigations were performed using crystal violet assay, spreading assay, hemolysis, proteolytic activity, and growth curve analysis. The methanolic extract of I. verum inhibited S. aureus at 4.8 mg/mL, and GC-MS analysis revealed anethole, m-methoxybenzaldehyde, and 3-HBA as the major constituents. Molecular docking attributed the antibiofilm activity to an active ligand present in 3-HBA, which strongly interacted with the active site residues of AgrA and SarA of S. aureus. At a subinhibitory concentration of 2.4 mg/mL, the extract showed biofilm inhibition. Similarly, 3-HBA inhibited biofilm activity at 25 μg/mL (90.34%), 12.5 μg/mL (77.21%), and 6.25 μg/mL (62.69%) concentrations. Marked attrition in bacterial spreading was observed at 2.4 mg/mL (crude extract) and 25 μg/mL (3-HBA) concentrations. The methanol extract of I. verum and 3-HBA markedly inhibited β-hemolytic and proteolytic activities of S. aureus. At the lowest concentration, the I. verum extract (2.4 mg/mL) and 3-HBA (25 μg/mL) did not inhibit bacterial growth. Optical microscopy and SEM analysis confirmed that I. verum and 3-HBA significantly reduced biofilm dispersion without disturbing bacterial growth. Together, we found that the antibiofilm activity of I. verum and 3-HBA strongly targeted the Agr and Sar systems of S. aureus.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:2470-1343
2470-1343
DOI:10.1021/acsomega.1c07178