Bacterial biofilms are serious concern in patients infected with urinary tract infections, complicated urinary tract infections and other device-associated infections. Microbes within the biofilms are effectively shielded from antibiotics and host immune cells, hence can be treated only with agents which has the potential to disassemble the biofilms. The study is focused on the root extracts of Arctium lappa Linn. as a source for complementary medicine against three major biofilm forming clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Serratia marcescens. Methanol extracts of burdock roots (BR) showed no bactericidal activity (p > 0.05) against the uropathogens, whereas restrained the biofilms (p < 0.05) on polystyrene and glass surfaces at a biofilm inhibitory concentration of 100 µg/mL. The 3D confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to analyze the biofilm architecture which showed significant reduction in the surface area. Z-stack analysis has also revealed substantial reduction in the biofilm thickness (E. coli-50.79%, P. mirabilis-69.49%, and S. marcescens-75.84%). Further, BR extracts also inhibited quorum-sensing (QS)-controlled cellular phenotypes such as violacein, prodigiosin, swarming motility, and cell surface hydrophobicity. LC-MS/MS analysis of BR extracts identified the presence of two major quercetin derivatives (miquelianin and peltatoside) along with few other constituent components. Exploring such phytocompounds will provide potential agents to treat infections caused by biofilm forming uropathogens. The antibiofilm and anti-QS agents will ultimately serve as armor, facilitating the host immune system to fight infections.

Mannich bases and its derivatives are regarded as supreme pharmacophores in therapeutics. The study investigates the antimycotic potential of Mannich bases, 1-((1H-benzimidazol-1-yl) methyl) urea (C1) and 1-((3-hydroxynapthalen-2-yl) methyl) thiourea (C2), against Candida albicans. Biofilm and hyphal inhibitory activities of the Mannich bases were tested by crystal violet quantification, fluorescence imaging cAMP rescue, qRT PCR, and by molecular docking analysis. The compounds inhibited the biofilms of C. albicans and restrained the filamentation abilities of the pathogen. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed that the presence of urea or thiourea moiety in the tail section is essential for interacting with adenylate cyclase (AC). The Mannich bases seemed to block Ras-cAMP-PKA pathway by inhibiting second messenger activity required for hyphal induction and biofilm formation. In conclusion, the study warrants point-of-care testing of C1/C2 and provides a starting point for deriving several structurally modified Mannich bases which might plausibly replace the prevailing antimycotic drugs in future.

a b s t r a c tIn this study, diphyllin [9-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-4-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxynaphtho[2,3-c]furan-1(3H)one] was isolated from Cleistanthus collinus leaf extract. The isolated compound and leaf extract were evaluated for their in vitro anticandidal activity against Candida strains such as Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. glabrata. Diphyllin was found to possess higher anticandidal activity against various Candida species with the Minimal Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) of 85-145 lg and inhibition zone of 9.5 ± 0.5-13.5 ± 0.5 mm at 200 lg concentration against the yeast pathogens studied. Thus, diphyllin was twice more active than miconazole against C. glabrata. Ó 2018 Mansoura University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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