Phytochemicals as Antimicrobials: Prospecting Himalayan Medicinal Plants as Source of Alternate Medicine to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

Abstract

Among all available antimicrobials, antibiotics hold a prime position in the treatment of infectious diseases. However, the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has posed a serious threat to the effectiveness of antibiotics, resulting in increased morbidity, mortality, and escalation in healthcare costs causing a global health crisis. The overuse and misuse of antibiotics in global healthcare setups have accelerated the development and spread of AMR, leading to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, which further limits treatment options. This creates a critical need to explore alternative approaches to combat bacterial infections. Phytochemicals have gained attention as a potential source of alternative medicine to address the challenge of AMR. Phytochemicals are structurally and functionally diverse and have multitarget antimicrobial effects, disrupting essential cellular activities. Given the promising results of plant-based antimicrobials, coupled with the slow discovery of novel antibiotics, it has become highly imperative to explore the vast repository of phytocompounds to overcome the looming catastrophe of AMR. This review summarizes the emergence of AMR towards existing antibiotics and potent phytochemicals having antimicrobial activities, along with a comprehensive overview of 123 Himalayan medicinal plants reported to possess antimicrobial phytocompounds, thus compiling the existing information that will help researchers in the exploration of phytochemicals to combat AMR.

Mediterranean Plants with Antimicrobial Activity against Staphylococcus aureus, a Meta-Analysis for Green Veterinary Pharmacology Applications

“…This serves as a tool to fight antimicrobial resistance, which has become a critical global health challenge [ 48 ]. The complex chemical composition of these plants, including alkaloids, terpenes, flavonoids, phenolics, and essential oils, provides a diverse range of compounds with diverse mechanisms of action against a broad spectrum of microbial pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses [ 54 , 55 ].…”

An Overview of Biofilm-Associated Infections and the Role of Phytochemicals and Nanomaterials in Their Control and Prevention

“…In fact, more than 80% of the pharmaceuticals available on the market either originate from natural sources or are inspired by natural compounds [ 153 , 154 , 155 ]. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only a few phytochemicals, such as paclitaxel, capsaicin, codeine, colchicine, and reserpine, against drug-resistant bacteria [ 156 ].…”

“…The knowledge and usage of medicinal plants since ancient times has resulted in additional investigations, leading to the discovery of new plant drug candidates and, in the end, new pharmaceuticals, such as digoxin, paclitaxel, etc. [ 19 , 156 ]. However, most of the available information is based on in vivo tests, which are insufficient and limited.…”

Integrons in the development of antimicrobial resistance: critical review and perspectives

“…We believe rising novel resistance genes in diverse microbial habitats through integrons would further hinder our efforts to devise treatment strategies, such as targeting integrons by antibiotics with adjuvants to inhibit SOS response. Development of new synthetic as well nature-based antimicrobials to combat the AMR ( Chakravorty et al, 2020 ; Terreni et al, 2021 ; Bhat et al, 2022a , b ; Mir et al, 2022a , b ; Ashraf et al, 2023 ). At the end of 2020, there were 43 antibiotics in clinical development, of which, 15 were Phase I, 13 in Phase II, and 13 in Phase III to combat AMR.…”