The Mechanisms of Bacterial Biofilm Inhibition and Eradication: The Search for Alternative Antibiofilm Agents

Abstract

Biofilms are a community of microorganisms with accretions of their extracellular matrix that attach both to biological or non-biological surfaces, conferring a significant and incompletely understood mode of growth for bacteria. Biofilm formation represents a protected mode of growth of bacteria that allows cells to survive in hostile environments, facilitating the colonization of new areas. This biofilm formation appears to be produced by microorganisms to resist drug action, causing them to become resistant. Therefore, the search for alternative agents is necessary to counteract and reduce this production, creating suitable drugs against these biofilms. Natural products from medicinal plants possess an array of secondary metabolites and bioactive compounds that could have bioactive potentials that inhibit and eradicate biofilms.