Table 1.
Plant based antimicrobial compounds and their mechanism of action.
| Class of compound | Phytochemical | Target pathogen | Mechanism of Action | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alkaloids | Dictamnine | Saccharomyces cerevisiae | Inhibiting type II topoisomerase | Heeb et al., 2011; Guo et al., 2008 |
| Sanguinarine | Carbapenem-resistant Serratia marcescens | Inhibiting replication and transcription | Awasthi et al., 2011; Fu et al., 2021 | |
| Chelerythrine | MRSA and Escherichia coli | Damaging the bacterial cells | He et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2021 | |
| Matrine | E. coli and Bacillus subtilis | Inhibiting the synthesis of proteins | Xiu et al., 2017, | |
| Caffeine | P. aeruginosa | Interaction with the quorum sensing proteins and inhibiting biofilm formation | Chakraborty et al., 2019; Anjani et al., 2020 | |
| 8-epidiosbulbin E-acetate | E. coli, E. faecalis, P. aeruginosa and S. sonnei | Plasmid curing | Shriram et al., 2008 | |
| Reserpine | Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp. and Micrococcus sp. | Efflux pump inhibitor | Sridevi et al., 2017 | |
| Piperine | M. resistant, S. aureus (MRSA) and S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Khameneh et al., 2015 | |
| Berberine |
E. coli and C. albicans |
Cell division inhibitor, Protein and DNA synthesis inhibitor |
Boberek et al., 2010; Zoric et al., 2017 |
|
| Chanoclavine | E. coli | Efflux pump inhibitor | Dwivedi et al., 2019 | |
| Solasodine | C. albicans | Destruction of bacterial membrane | Chang et al., 2017 | |
| Conessine | P. aeruginosa and M. luteus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Siriyong et al., 2017 | |
| Tomatidine |
Listeria, Bacillus and Staphylococcus spp |
ATP synthase inhibitor | Boulet et al., 2018; Guay et al., 2018 | |
| Lysergol | E. coli | Efflux pump inhibitor | Maurya et al., 2013 | |
| Organosulfur compounds | Diallyl Sulfides | C. albicans | Inhibiting glutathione (GSH) S-transferase (GST) activity. Interaction with the quorum sensing proteins and inhibiting biofilm formation | Velliyagounder et al., 2012; Li et al., 2019 |
| Allicin |
S. epidermidis, P. aeruginosa and S. agalactiae |
Sulfhydryl-dependent enzyme inhibitor, DNA and protein synthesis inhibitor | Reiter et al., 2017 | |
| Ajoene | C. jejuni, Streptococcus spp, Staphylococcus spp and E. coli | Sulfhydryl-dependent enzyme inhibitor | Rehman and Mairaj, 2013 | |
| Sulforaphane | E. coli | Destruction of bacterial membrane, ATP synthase inhibitor, DNA and protein synthesis inhibitor | Wu et al., 2012 | |
| Phenolic compounds | Sophoraflavanone G | MRSA | Interacting with peptidoglycan and inhibiting cell wall biosynthesis | Mun et al., 2014 |
| Acetosyringone | S. cerevisiae | Depolarization of the bacterial cell membrane | Saravanakumar et al., 2016; Szatmári et al., 2021 | |
| Chlorogenic acid | Providencia alcalifaciens, Moraxella catarrhalis, S. aureus, and E. coli | Interacting with some crucial enzymes | Neetu et al., 2020 | |
| Galangin | S. aureus | Damaging of the cytoplasmic membrane and inhibition of β-lactamase | Ouyang et al., 2017 | |
| Chrysin | H. pylori | Cell membrane disruption, DNA gyrase inhibition | Wu et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2017 | |
| Tannic acid | S. aureus | Ion binding | Diniz-Silva et al., 2016 | |
| (+)-Catechin | MRSA | Inhibition of bacterial gene expression | Sinsinwar and Vadivel (2020) | |
| Resveratrol | M. smegmatis and C. jejuni | Efflux pump inhibitor | Lechner et al., 2008; Klancnik et al., 2017 | |
| Baicalein | M. smegmatis, MRSA and C. albicans | Efflux pump inhibitor | Lechner et al., 2008; Chan et al., 2011 | |
| Biochanin A | M. smegmatis, MRSA and Chlamydia spp. | Efflux pump inhibitor | Lechner et al., 2008; Zou et al., 2014 | |
| Formononetin | M. smegmatis | Efflux pump inhibitor | Lechner et al., 2008 | |
| Luteolin |
Mycobacteria spp. and
M. smegmatis |
Efflux pump inhibitor | Lechner et al., 2008; Rodrigues et al., 2011 | |
| Kaempferol | MRSA and C. albicans, | Efflux pump inhibitor | Randhawa et al., 2016; Shao et al., 2016 | |
| Kaempferol rhamnoside | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Holler et al., 2012a | |
| Myricetin | M. smegmatis | Efflux pump inhibitor | Lechner et al., 2008 | |
| Rhamentin | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Brown et al., 2015 | |
| Quercetin | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Brown et al., 2015 | |
| Chrysosplenol-D | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Stermitz et al., 2003 | |
| Chrysoplentin | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Stermitz et al., 2003 | |
| Silybin | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Stermitz et al., 2001 | |
| Biochanin A | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Morel et al., 2003 | |
| Genistein | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Morel et al., 2003 | |
| Orobol | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Morel et al., 2003 | |
| 4′,6′-Dihydroxy-3′,5′-dimethyl-2′- methoxychalcone | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Belofsky et al., 2004 | |
| 4-phenoxy-4′-dimethylamino ethoxychalcone | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Holler et al., 2012b | |
| 4-dimethylamino-4′-dimethylamino ethoxychalcone | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Holler et al., 2012b | |
| Bergamottin epoxide | MRSA | Efflux pump inhibitor | Abulrob et al., 2004 | |
| 5,7-dihydroxy-6-(2-methylbutanoyl)- 8-(3-methylbut-2-enyl)-4-phenyl-2H- chromen-2-one |
MRSA | Efflux pump inhibitor | Campos et al., 2009 | |
| 5,7-dihydroxy-8-(2-methylbutanoyl)- 6-(3-methylbut-2-enyl)-4-phenyl-2H- chromen-2-one |
MRSA | Efflux pump inhibitor | Campos et al., 2009 | |
| Epigallocatechin gallate | S. aureus | DNA gyrase, Inhibiting the B subunit of DNA gyrase, penicillinase, and β-lactamase | Gradisar et al., 2007 | |
| Chebulinic acid | M. tuberculosis | DNA gyrase | Patel et al., 2015 | |
| 3-p-Trans-coumaroyl-2- hydroxyquinic acid | S. aureus | Damage to the cytoplasmic membrane | Wu et al., 2016 | |
| p-Coumaric acid |
O. oeni and L. hilgardii |
Damage to the cytoplasmic membrane | Campos et al., 2009 | |
| Apigenin | H. pylori and E. coli | d-Alanine:d-alanine ligase | Wu et al., 2008 | |
| Sophoraflavanone B | MRSA | Direct interaction with peptidoglycan | Mun et al., 2014 | |
| Naringenin | E. faecalis | Beta-Ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthase (KAS) III | Jeong et al., 2009 | |
| Eriodictyol | E. faecalis | Beta-Ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthase (KAS) III | Jeong et al., 2009 | |
| Taxifolin | E. faecalis | Beta-Ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthase (KAS) III | Jeong et al., 2009 | |
| Sakuranetin | H. pylori | FabZ | Zhang et al., 2008 | |
| 3,6-Dihydroxyflavone | E. coli | Beta-Ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthase (KAS) III and I |
Farhadi et al., 2019 | |
| Curcumin | S. aureus | Sortase A | Park et al., 2005 | |
| S. aureus and E. coli | leaky membrane | Tyagi et al., 2015 | ||
| Morin | S. aureus | Sortase A and B | Kang et al., 2006 | |
| 4′,7,8-trihydroxyl-2-isoflavene | H. pylori | urease inhibitor | Xiao et al., 2013 | |
| Coumarins | Daphnetin | P. fluorescens and Shewanella putrefaciens | Cell membrane Disruption, Type III secretion inactivation | Yang et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2018 |
| Esculetin | Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum | Cell membrane Disruption, Type III secretion inactivation | Holler et al., 2012a; Yang et al., 2018 | |
| Umbelliferone | R. pseudosolanacearum | Cell membrane Disruption, Type III secretion inactivation | Holler et al., 2012a; Yang et al., 2018 | |
| Aegelinol | S. enterica serovar Typhi, E. aerogenes, E. cloacae and S. aureus | DNA gyrase inhibitor | Basile et al., 2009 | |
| Agasyllin | H. pylori | DNA gyrase inhibitor | Basile et al., 2009 | |
| 4′-senecioiloxyosthol | S. enterica serovar Typhi, E. aerogenes, E. cloacae and S. aureus | DNA gyrase inhibitor | Tan et al., 2017 | |
| Osthole | H. pylori | DNA gyrase inhibitor | Tan et al., 2017 | |
| Asphodelin A 4′-O-β-D-glucoside | B. subtilis | DNA gyrase inhibitor | El-Seedi, 2007 | |
| Asphodelin A |
B. subtilis, S. aureus, K. pneumonia and MSRA |
DNA gyrase inhibitor | El-Seedi, 2007 | |
| Clorobiocin | S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, C. albicans and B. cinerea | DNA gyrase inhibitor | Maxwell, 1993 | |
| Novobiocin | DNA gyrase inhibitor | Maxwell, 1993 | ||
| Coumermycin A1 | DNA gyrase inhibitor | Maxwell, 1993 | ||
| Bergamottin epoxide | MSRA | Efflux pump inhibitor | Roy et al., 2013 | |
| 6-Geranyl coumarin | S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | de Araujo et al., 2016 | |
| Galbanic acid | MDR clinical isolates of S. aureus | Efflux pump inhibitor | Bazzaz et al., 2010 | |
| Terpenes | α-Pinene | H. pylori | Disrupting cell membrane integrity | Konuk and Ergüden, 2020; Jeyakumar et al., 2021 |
| Limonene | S. aureus | Disrupting cell membrane integrity | Konuk and Ergüden, 2020; Jeyakumar et al., 2021 | |
| Linalool | P. aeruginosa | Disrupting cell membrane integrity, changing in the nucleoid morphology, and interfering with cellular respiration | Nguyen et al., 2018; | |
| Sabinene | Multi drug-resistant strains | Disrupting cell membrane integrity and inhibiting DNA synthesis | Matias et al., 2016 | |
| α-Terpineol | E. coli | Lossing membrane-bound autolytic enzymes, the cytoplasm leakage and inability to osmoregulate | Carson et al., 2002; Li et al., 2014 | |
| Citronellol | Trichophyton rubrum | Deteriorating membrane integrity | Lopez-Romero et al., 2015; Pereira et al., 2015 | |
| α-Bisabolol | Propionibacterium acnes and S. epidermidis | Disrupting cell membrane integrity | Sieniawska et al., 2015 | |
| Farnesol | S. aureus | Cell membrane disturbance | Togashi et al., 2010 | |
| Nerolidol | S. aureus | Cell membrane disturbance | Togashi et al., 2010 | |
| Dehydroabietic acid | S. aureus | Cell membrane disturbance | ||
| (4R)-(-)-carvone | C. jejuni, E. faecium and E. coli | Cell membrane disturbance | De Carvalho and Da Fonseca, 2006 | |
| (4S)-(+)-carvone | L. monocytogenes | Cell membrane disturbance | De Carvalho and Da Fonseca, 2006 | |
| Thymol | C. albicans | Inhibits H (+)-ATPase in the cytoplasmic membrane, cell membrane disturb a efflux pump | Sharifzadeh et al., 2018 | |
| Carvacrol |
A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. ochraceus, A. alternata, B. cinerea, Cladosporium spp., P. citrinum, P. chrysogenum, F. oxysporum and R. oryzae, |
Cell membrane disturbance, efflux pump inhibition | Abbaszadeh et al., 2014 | |
| Eugenol |
A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. ochraceus, A. alternata, B. cinerea, Cladosporium spp., P. citrinum, P. chrysogenum, F. oxysporum and Rhizopus oryzae |
Cell membrane disturbance | Abbaszadeh et al., 2014 | |
| Menthol |
A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. ochraceus, A. alternata, B. cinerea, Cladosporium spp., P. citrinum, P. chrysogenum, F. oxysporum and R. oryzae |
Cell membrane disturbance | Abbaszadeh et al., 2014 | |
| Cinnamaldehyde | H. pylori | Cell membrane disturbance | Ali et al., 2005 | |
| Ursolic acid | E. coli | Cell membrane disturbance | Broniatowski et al., 2015 | |
| α-Amyrin | E. coli | Cell membrane disturbance | Broniatowski et al., 2015 |