Infection by bacteria is one of the main problems in health. The use of commercial antibiotics is still one of the treatments to overcome these problems. However, high levels of consumption lead to antibiotic resistance. Several types of antibiotics have been reported to experience resistance. One solution that can be given is the use of natural antibacterial products. There have been many studies reporting the potential antibacterial activity of the Ocimum plant. Ocimum is known to be one of the medicinal plants that have been used traditionally by local people. This plant contains components of secondary metabolites such as phenolics, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, and alkaloids. Therefore, in this paper, we will discuss five types of Ocimum species, namely O. americanum, O. basilicum, O. gratissimum, O. campechianum, and O. sanctum. The five species are known to contain many chemical constituents and have good antibacterial activity against several pathogenic bacteria.

The utilization of medicinal plants has long been explored for the discovery of antibacterial agents and the most effective mechanisms or new targets that can prevent and control the spread of antibiotic resistance. One kind of bacterial cell wall inhibition is the inactivation of the MurA enzyme that contributes to the formation of peptidoglycan. Another approach is to interfere with the cell–cell communication of bacteria called the Quorum sensing (QS) system. The blocking of auto-inducer such as gelatinase biosynthesis-activating pheromone (GBAP) can also suppress the virulence factors of gelatinase and serine protease. This research, in particular, aims to analyze lead compounds as antibacterial and anti-QS agents from Gambir (Uncaria gambir Roxburgh) through protein inhibition by in silico study. Antibacterial agents were isolated by bioactivity-guided isolation using a combination of chromatographic methods, and their chemical structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis methods. The in vitro antibacterial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion methods to determine inhibitory values. Meanwhile, in the in silico analysis, the compound of Uncaria gambir was used as ligand and compared with fosfomycin, ambuic acid, quercetin, and taxifolin as the standard ligand. These ligands were attached to MurA, GBAP, gelatinase, and serine proteases using Autodock Vina in PyRx 0.8 followed by PYMOL for combining the ligand conformation and proteins. plus programs to explore the complex, and visualized by Discovery Studio 2020 Client program. The antibacterial agent was identified as catechin that showed inhibitory activity against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 with inhibition zones of 11.70 mm at 10%, together with MIC and MBC values of 0.63 and 1.25 μg/mL, respectively. In the in silico study, the molecular interaction of catechin with MurA, GBAP, and gelatinase proteins showed good binding energy compared with two positive controls, namely fosfomycin and ambuic acid. It is better to use catechin–MurA (−8.5 Kcal/mol) and catechin–gelatinase (−7.8 Kcal/mol), as they have binding energies which are not marginally different from quercetin and taxifolin. On the other hand, the binding energy of serine protease is lower than quercetin, taxifolin, and ambuic acid. Based on the data, catechin has potency as an antibacterial through the inhibition of GBAP proteins, gelatinase, and serine protease that play a role in the QS system. This is the first discovery of the potential of catechin as an alternative antibacterial agent with an effective mechanism to prevent and control oral disease affected by antibiotic resistance.

Background: antibiotic resistance encourages the development of new therapies, or the discovery of novel antibacterial agents. Previous research revealed that Myrmecodia pendans (Sarang Semut) contain potential antibacterial agents. However, specific proteins inhibited by them have not yet been identified as either proteins targeted by antibiotics or proteins that have a role in the quorum-sensing system. This study aims to investigate and predict the action mode of antibacterial compounds with specific proteins by following the molecular docking approach. Methods: butein (1), biflavonoid (2), 3″-methoxyepicatechin-3-O-epicatechin (3), 2-dodecyl-4-hydroxylbenzaldehyde (4), 2-dodecyl-4-hydroxylbenzaldehyde (5), pomolic acid (6), betulin (7), and sitosterol-(6′-O-tridecanoil)-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (8) from M. pendans act as the ligand. Antibiotics or substrates in each protein were used as a positive control. To screen the bioactivity of compounds, ligands were analyzed by Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances (PASS) program. They were docked with 12 proteins by AutoDock Vina in the PyRx 0.8 software application. Those proteins are penicillin-binding protein (PBP), MurB, Sortase A (SrtA), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) gyrase, ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase, ribosomal protein, Cytolysin M (ClyM), FsrB, gelatinase binding-activating pheromone (GBAP), and PgrX retrieved from UniProt. The docking results were analyzed by the ProteinsPlus and Discovery Studio software applications. Results: most compounds have Pa value over 0.5 against proteins in the cell wall. In nearly all proteins, biflavonoid (2) has the strongest binding affinity. However, compound 2 binds only three residues, so that 2 is the non-competitive inhibitor. Conclusion: compound 2 can be a lead compound for an antibacterial agent in each pathway.

Background: Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) is a pathogenic bacteria present in the oral cavity involved in the pathogenesis

Exploration of natural compound for the treatment of dental-related problems are gaining of interest for enhancing therapeutic efficacy of the drugs delivery system. In this study, we have prepared terpenoid, which have been isolated from Myrmecodia pendens Merr & Perry from Papua Island, Indonesia, to be encapsulated in Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), as the most widely used biodegradable polymer for biomedical applications, through one step single-emulsion method followed by subsequent coating by poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The resultant of terpenoid-loaded PLGA microparticles were characterized systematically through scanning electron microscope and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. In vitro drug release test was evaluated through dialysis method. Antibacterial test was conducted against Enterococcus faecalis as a model for persistent bacteria that causes root canal infections. The results showed that terpenoid-loaded PLGA microparticles were developed in spherical morphology with an average particle size of around 1-2μm. Terpenoid released from PLGA compartment at pH 6.5 and temperature of 37°C through a controlled-release profile mechanism with enhanced prolonged release. The bacterial assay result showed that terpenoid-loaded PLGA microparticles could reduce Enterococcus faecalis, effectively. Eventually, these result show that terpenoid-loaded PLGA microparticles as unique natural product-based extract could be developed as a potential naturally-based drug for dental-related diseases applications.