Natural Products for the Treatment of Trachoma and Chlamydia trachomatis

Abstract

Abstract:The neglected tropical disease (NTD) trachoma is currently the leading cause of eye disease in the world, and the pathogenic bacteria causing this condition, Chlamydia trachomatis, is also the most common sexually transmitted pathogenic bacterium. Although the serovars of this bacterial species typically vary between ocular and genital infections there is a clear connection between genital C. trachomatis infections and the development of trachoma in infants, such that the solutions to these infections are closely related. It is the unique life cycle of the C. trachomatis bacteria which primarily leads to chronic infections and challenges in treatment using conventional antibiotics. This life cycle involves stages of infective elementary bodies (EBs) and reproductive reticulate bodies (RBs). Most antibiotics only target the reproductive RBs and this often leads to the need for prolonged therapy which facilitates the development of drug resistant pathogens. It is through combining several compounds to obtain multiple antimicrobial mechanisms that we are most likely to develop a reliable means to address all these issues. Traditional and ethnobotanical medicine provides valuable resources for the development of novel formulations and treatment regimes based on synergistic and multi-compound therapy. In this review we intend to summarize the existing literature on the application of natural compounds for controlling trachoma and inhibiting chlamydial bacteria and explore the potential for the development of new treatment modalities.

Natural Products for the Treatment of Chlamydiaceae Infections

“…Herbal medicines may be useful as a starting point for the development of new antichlamydial drugs [41]. Natural products comprise a diverse range of biochemical compounds.…”

“…When the RFX5 and chlamydial protease-like activity factor (CPAF) genes in chlamydia-infected cells were examined, it was found that RFX5 was upregulated and CPAF was downregulated by baicalin, with CPAF as the primary target [51]. It has been suggested that the CPAF degradation of RFX5 may play a role in chlamydia escaping efficient host immune detection, and therefore the down-regulation of CPAF may allow the hosts immune system to more effectively detect the chlamydial infection [41]. The lupine-class triterpene, betulin, is extensively distributed in nature and has been shown to be highly biologically active in the treatment of intracellular pathogens.…”

Histopathological Effects of using Grape Seed Extract Alone or in Combination with Ofloxacin against Pasteurella Multocida in Rabbits

“…Their inappropriate and uncontrolled use carries potential microbial resistance hazards that can affect not only the production system, but human health and the environment as well (Quesada et al, 2013). In view of these facts, traditional medicine can offer a wealth of interesting ways to fight drug resistance (Narayanan et al, 2011;Potroz and Cho, 2015).…”

Etiological characteristics of chlamydia trachoma conjunctivitis of Primary Boarding School students in the Qinghai Tibetan area

“…The C. trachomatis lifecycle involves an infective, metabolically inactive elementary body, which attaches to a eukaryotic host cell and is subsequently reorganized into the reproductive reticulate body form. The reticulate body form proliferates via binary fission and merges with the membrane, part of which is concentrated in the elementary body again and is released into the cell (Potroz and Cho, 2015). The transmission of C. trachomatis includes direct spreading and urogenital tract infection (through an oropharyngeal infection, C. trachomatis could reach the lower digestive tract and urogenital tract, and re-infection of the oropharynx via the digestive tract or reproductive tract could occur).…”