Medicinal plant-derived antimicrobials' fight against multidrug-resistant pathogens

Abstract

Emergence of new multidrug resistance (MDR) microbes poses a threat to human and animal communities. The reason for such critical issues is due to unscientific-rampant uses in diseased persons and disposal of potent antibiotics in natural sites, resulting in unwanted exposure of soil microbes to such compounds. As a consequence of such exposure, the list of such emerging MDR is growing day by day, with frequent contamination and infection in the animal life forms. Therefore, the pharmaceutical companies are in utter needs to develop new and novel potential antimicrobials to combat such MDR diseases. However, our knowledge and skills are still limited to design and develop such more potential drug molecules for such challenges. Here, the metabolic diversities and biosynthesis machinery of the plant communities, more specifically the medicinal plant species, provide a big canvas to search for that. So, the present pharmaceutical companies are greatly relying on the knowledge of natural lead antimicrobial molecules effective against the MDR strains to be exploited for large-scale application in both human and animal life forms. In the present research communication, we are attempting to decipher the biochemistry, efficacy, and prospects of such potential lead molecules in the aid of MDR strains. Studies report that a variety of different classes of primary and secondary metabolites like alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, coumarin, terpenoids, etc. of medicinal plants have proven their in vitro and in vivo efficacy against a large number of MDR strains. Thus, the information has led researchers to extract and characterize more new and novel bioactive metabolites fighting against the resistance pathogens at the molecular level. The study delineates the importance and potential avenues to work more on medicinal plants to decipher their life-supporting prospects for the present and future disease challenges and epidemics.