Antioxidant Phytochemicals as Novel Therapeutic Strategies against Drug-Resistant Bacteria

The antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria is a major concern and the emergence of novel multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains are a growing threat worldwide. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become a serious problem of public health that concerns almost all antibacterial agents and that manifests in all fields of their application. Therefore, novel antimicrobial compounds against new bacterial targets and drug resistance mechanisms are urgently needed. Plants are well-known sources of structurally diverse phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, and terpenes, which plays important roles in human health. Plant-derived antimicrobial agents are an attractive and ongoing source of new therapeutics. Natural compounds that prevent and treat infections through dual action mechanisms such as oxidative stress against pathogens and antioxidant action in the host cell hold promising potential for developing novel therapeutics. Identification of detailed mechanisms of action of such phytomolecules with both antioxidant and antimicrobial activities may help to develop novel antimicrobial therapeutics and benefit overall human health. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize important antioxidant phytochemicals, and focusing on their potential role in the management of drug-resistant bacterial infections

Glycerol Utilization as a Sole Carbon Source Disrupts the Membrane Architecture and Solventogenesis in <i>Clostridium beijerinckii</i> NCIMB 8052

Efficient bioconversion of abundant waste glycerol to value-added chemicals calls for a wider range of fermentative workhorses that can catabolize glycerol. In this study, we used quantitative gene expression and solvent profiling, qualitative metabolite analysis, and enzyme activity assays to investigate the factors that limit glycerol utilization as a sole carbon source by Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052. C. beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 did not produce acetate, acetone and butanol on glycerol. Congruently, the genes encoding the coenzyme A transferase subunits (ctfAB) and bifunctional acetaldehyde-CoA/alcohol dehydrogenase (adhE) were down-regulated up to 135- and 21-fold, respectively, at 12 h in glycerol-grown cells compared to glucose-grown cells. Conversely, NADH-dependent butanol dehydrogenase A (bdhA) was upregulated 2-fold. Glycerol dehydrogenase (gldA) and dihydroxyacetone kinase (subunit dhaK) were upregulated up to 5- and 881-fold, respectively. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gapdh) showed mostly similar expression profiles at 12 h on glucose and glycerol. At 24 h, gapdh was downregulated 1.5-fold, while NADP+-dependent gapdh was upregulated up to 1.9-fold. Glycerol-grown cells showed higher or similar activity profiles for all solventogenic enzymes studied, compared to glucose-grown cells. Butyraldehyde (3 g/L) supplementation led to the production of ~0.1 g/L butanol, whilst butyrate (3.5 g/L) supplementation produced 0.7 and 0.5 g/L acetone and butanol, respectively, with glycerol. Further, the long chain saturated fatty acids cyclopentaneundecanoic acid, methyl ester and hexadecanoic acid, butyl ester were detected in glucose- but not in glycerol-grown cells. Collectively, growth on glycerol appears to disrupt synthesis of saturated long chain fatty acids, as well as solventogenesis in C. beijerinckii NCIMB 8052