Potent antimicrobial and anti-biofilm effects of Uvaria chamae on Staphylococcus aureus strains via potential cell wall interference and lack of resistance induction

What is it about?

Uvaria chamae is a medicinal plant widely used in West and central Africa to treat various conditions, including infectious diseases. In this article, we studied its anti-infective properties against Staphylococcus aureus, a major human pathogen associated with skin, soft tissue and medical device -linked infections. Our results demonstrate that an ethanolic extract prepared from the root of this plant showed similar antibacterial potency as clinically used antibiotics (eg. vancomycin) against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Besides its potent inhibitory activity against bacterial growth, the extract was found to be superior to alinically used antibiotics in destructing bacterial biofilms, ie. bacterial populations living as communities embedded in their carbohydrate and protein secretions. During a 20-day continuous exposure, S. aureus did not develop resistance against the plant extract treatment while antibiotics used as reference compounds lost their potency in the experimentation. Electron microscopy imaging of the extract-treated bacteria revealed rough surface structure of the bacteria, indicating disturbances in bacterial cell wall structures. Finally, the chemical composition analysis revealed the presence of multiple chalcone and dihydrochalcone -structured compounds in the active fraction of the extract, warranting further investigation to elucidate the contribution of individual structures to the observed anti-infective properties.

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Why is it important?

Rapid rise of resistance is a key problem with most current antibiotics. The observation of significantly lower resistance induction by this plant-derived compound mixture paves the wave for identifying the underlying targets or target combinations which result to this highly beneficial property. On the other hand, medicinal plant -based treatments are a cornerstone of primary health care and infection management for a vast majority of global population. Promoting the evidence-based use of locally available plant resources hence has direct impact on the health management in resource-limited settings.

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