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Progress of Antimicrobial Mechanisms of Stilbenoids

Summary

Stilbenoids are natural compounds found in plants that can fight harmful bacteria and fungi in multiple ways. Unlike traditional antibiotics that only kill microbes, stilbenoids can also prevent infections by disrupting biofilm formation and weakening pathogen virulence. These compounds show promise in combating drug-resistant infections without promoting further resistance development, making them valuable candidates for new antibiotic medicines.

Background

Antimicrobial drugs have been crucial in treating pathogenic infections, but the emergence of drug resistance continues to pose a major threat to human health. Stilbenoids, characterized by a C6-C2-C6 carbon skeleton, are plant-derived phytoalexins with diverse pharmacological activities including antimicrobial properties. This review examines stilbenoids as promising candidates for novel antimicrobial agents in the resistance era.

Objective

This review comprehensively summarizes the antimicrobial mechanisms of stilbenoids from multiple perspectives including direct antimicrobial properties, antibiofilm activity, antivirulence activity, and their role in reversing drug resistance. The objective is to provide an important reference for the future development and research of stilbenoids as antimicrobial agents.

Results

Stilbenoids exert antimicrobial activities through multiple mechanisms: direct targeting of cell membrane and wall, DNA damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and conventional targets like ATPase and cell division machinery. They also function as antibiofilm and antivirulence agents by inhibiting adhesion factors, virulence factor expression, and quorum sensing systems. Stilbenoids can reverse antibiotic resistance by inhibiting ATP synthase, reducing biofilm formation, and inhibiting drug-modifying enzymes.

Conclusion

Stilbenoids represent a versatile class of antimicrobial compounds with flexible roles against drug-resistant microbes through multiple mechanisms of action. Their ability to target both conventional microbial targets and resistance mechanisms, combined with antibiofilm and antivirulence activities, makes them promising candidates for novel antimicrobial drug development in combating the antibiotic resistance crisis.
  • Published in:Pharmaceutics,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: 38794325
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