Antibacterial Properties and Cytotoxicity of Geodorum Densiflorum Rhizome Lectin: A Promising Solution to Combat Antibiotic Resistance

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a pressing issue in modern medicine, posing a significant concern in the 21 st century.Microorganisms have developed new resistance mechanisms that spread widely, endangering our ability to treat various infectious diseases and increasing nosocomial infections. Lectins, which exhibit broad antibacterial activity, work based on carbohydrate specificity, varying in effectiveness depending on the plant species from which they are derived from. They offer a potential alternative to combat antibiotic resistance. However, further research is needed for clinical application. In our study, we explored the physiological effects of GDL, a lectin weighing around 12 ± 1 kDa, sourced from Geodorum densiflorum (Lam.) rhizomes. We assessed its antibacterial activity against six bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella boydii, E. coli, Shigella sonnei, Agrobacterium sp., and Shigella dysentery). GDL displayed varying levels of growth inhibition, with minimal inhibitory concentrations ranging from 40 to 320 μg/mL. Additionally, we examined the cytotoxicity of Geodorum densiflorum lectin using the brine shrimp lethality bioassay. GDL exhibited dose-dependent toxicity towards Artemia larvae, with an LC50 value of 385 µg/ml. This cytotoxic result suggests that future research on lectin applications from Geodorum densiflorum rhizomes may have significant implications in clinical microbiology, paving the way for further in-depth investigations.