Antibacterial Activity of the Essential Oil of Piper tuberculatum Jacq. Fruits against Multidrug-Resistant Strains: Inhibition of Efflux Pumps and β-Lactamase.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	da Silva, Lucas Yure Santos Paulo, Cicera Laura Roque Moura, Talysson Felismino Alves, Daniel Sampaio Pessoa, Renata Torres Araújo, Isaac Moura de Morais Oliveira-Tintino, Cícera Datiane Tintino, Saulo Relison Nonato, Carla de Fatima Alves da Costa, José Galberto Martins Ribeiro-Filho, Jaime Coutinho, Henrique Douglas Melo Kowalska, Grażyna Mitura, Przemysław Bar, Marek Kowalski, Radosław de Menezes, Irwin Rose Alencar
Editor	Najar, Basma Marchioni, Ilaria
Copyright Year	2023
Abstract	Antimicrobial resistance has become a growing public health concern in recent decades, demanding a search for new effective treatments. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the phytochemical composition and evaluate the antibacterial activity of the essential oil obtained from the fruits of Piper tuberculatum Jacq. (EOPT) against strains carrying different mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. Phytochemical analysis was performed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The antibacterial activity of EOPT and its ability to inhibit antibiotic resistance was evaluated through the broth microdilution method. The GC-MS analysis identified 99.59% of the constituents, with β-pinene (31.51%), α-pinene (28.38%), and β-cis-ocimene (20.22%) being identified as major constituents. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of EOPT was determined to assess its antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (IS-58, 1199B, K2068, and K4100). The compound showed a MIC of ≥ 1024 μg/mL, suggesting a lack of intrinsic antibacterial activity. However, when the EOPT was associated with antibiotics and EtBr, a significant decrease in antibiotic resistance was observed, indicating the modulation of efflux pump activity. This evidence was corroborated with the observation of increased fluorescent light emission by the bacterial strains, indicating the involvement of the NorA and MepA efflux pumps. Additionally, the significant potentiation of ampicillin activity against the S. aureus strain K4414 suggests the β-lactamase inhibitory activity of EOPT. These results suggest that the essential oil from P. tuberculatum fruits has antibiotic-enhancing properties, with a mechanism involving the inhibition of efflux pumps and β-lactamase in MDR S. aureus strains. These findings provide new perspectives on the potential use of EOPT against antibiotic resistance and highlight the importance of Piper species as sources of bioactive compounds with promising therapeutic activities against MDR bacteria. Nevertheless, further preclinical (in vivo) studies remain necessary to confirm these in vitro-observed results.
Journal	Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
Volume Number	12
PubMed Central reference number	PMC10305721
Issue Number	12
PubMed reference number	37376002
e-ISSN	22237747
DOI	10.3390/plants12122377
Language	English
Publisher	MDPI
Publisher Date	2023-06-19
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). © 2023 by the authors.
Subject Keyword	Piper tuberculatum essential oils multidrug-resistant bacteria phytochemical analysis
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Plant Science Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics