Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep 20;13(18):2622.
doi: 10.3390/plants13182622.

Inhibition of Oral Pathogenic Bacteria, Suppression of Bacterial Adhesion and Invasion on Human Squamous Carcinoma Cell Line (HSC-4 Cells), and Antioxidant Activity of Plant Extracts from Acanthaceae Family

Sureeporn Suriyaprom  1   2 , Pornpimon Ngamsaard  1 , Varachaya Intachaisri  1 , Nitsanat Cheepchirasuk  1 , Aussara Panya  1   3 , Thida Kaewkod  1   3 , Yingmanee Tragoolpua  1   3
Affiliations

Inhibition of Oral Pathogenic Bacteria, Suppression of Bacterial Adhesion and Invasion on Human Squamous Carcinoma Cell Line (HSC-4 Cells), and Antioxidant Activity of Plant Extracts from Acanthaceae Family

Sureeporn Suriyaprom et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Medicinal plants have traditionally been used to treat various human diseases worldwide. In this study, we evaluated the leaf extracts of plants from the Acanthaceae family, specifically Clinacanthus nutans (Burm.f.) Lindau, Thunbergia laurifolia Lindl., and Acanthus ebracteatus Vahl., for their compounds and antioxidant activity. The ethanolic extracts of A. ebracteatus showed the highest total phenolic content at 22.55 mg GAE/g extract and the strongest antioxidant activities, with IC50 values of 0.24 mg/mL and 3.05 mg/mL, as determined by DPPH and ABTS assays. The antibacterial efficacy of these extracts was also tested against Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The diameters of the inhibition zones ranged from 14.7 to 17.3 mm using the agar well diffusion method, with MIC and MBC values ranging from 7.81 to 250 mg/mL. Anti-biofilm formation, antibacterial adhesion, and antibacterial invasion assays further demonstrated that these medicinal plant extracts can inhibit bacterial biofilm formation and prevent the adhesion and invasion of oral pathogenic bacteria on the human tongue squamous cell carcinoma-derived cell line (HSC-4 cells). The ethanolic extracts of C. nutans and A. ebracteatus were able to inhibit the gtfD and gbp genes, which facilitate biofilm formation and bacterial adherence to surfaces. These findings provide new insights into the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of plant extracts from the Acanthaceae family. These activities could enhance the clinical and pharmaceutical applications of plant extracts as an alternative therapy for bacterial infections and a dietary supplement.

Keywords: Acanthaceae family plant; Streptococcus mutans; antioxidant; biofilm; oral pathogenic bacteria.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of plant extracts from the Acanthaceae family against some oral pathogenic bacteria (A) K. pneumoniae, (B) S. aureus, (C) S. mutans, and (D) S. pyogenes by agar well diffusion method. Wells were loaded with the following treatments: (1) T. laurifolia, (2) A. ebracteatus, (3) C. nutans, (4) negative controls (DMSO 99.9%), and (5) positive controls (gentamicin 1 mg/mL).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of plant extracts from the Acanthaceae family (1 MIC) against (A) K. pneumoniae, (B) S. aureus, (C) S. mutans, and (D) S. pyogenes. Time–kill data represented as mean ± SD (n = 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of plant extracts from the Acanthaceae family on the biofilm formation of oral pathogenic bacteria: K. pneumoniae, S. aureus, S. mutans, and S. pyogenes after treatment with (A) C. nutans, (B) T. laurifolia, (C) A. ebracteatus, and (D) bacterial control group, which was not treated with the extracts.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of plant extracts from the Acanthaceae family on bacterial adhesion to HSC-4 cells. Adhesion of bacterial control group (A) S. mutans to HSC-4 cells and after being treated with (B) C. nutans (Burm.f.) Lindau, (C) T. laurifolia Lindl., and (D) A. ebracteatus Vahl. extracts as observed by microscopic examination. Arrows indicate representative adhered bacterial cell.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The relative mRNA expression levels of gtfB, gtfC, gtfD, and gbp genes on S. mutans after treatment with plant extracts from the Acanthaceae family at 1.95 and 3.91 mg/mL. Gene expression ratios of S. mutans were normalized and compared to the expression of the regulator gene. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 3), and significant difference (*) with p < 0.05 when comparing to the untreated bacterial control group is indicated.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Flowchart of the experimental procedure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Sabbah W., Folayan M.O., El Tantawi M. The link between oral and general health. Int. J. Dent. 2019;2019:7862923. doi: 10.1155/2019/7862923. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee S.-W. Microbiological links between periodontitis and systemic diseases: A brief review. Oral. Biol. Res. 2023;47:81–94. doi: 10.21851/obr.47.03.202309.81. - DOI
    1. Ben Taheur F., Kouidhi B., Fdhila K., Elabed H., Ben Slama R., Mahdouani K., Bakhrouf A., Chaieb K. Anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm activity of probiotic bacteria against oral pathogens. Microb. Pathog. 2016;97:213–220. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2016.06.018. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pallavi P., Barik A., Sahoo N., Rajhans G., Raut S. Alleviation of dental caries by use of isolated potential probiotic and its characterization. Biotechnol. Appl. Biochem. 2023;70:1518–1529. doi: 10.1002/bab.2471. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Awan A.J., Ahmed C.B., Uzair M., Aslam M.S., Farooq U., Ishfaq K. Family Acanthaceae and genus Aphelandra: Ethnopharmacological and phytochemical review. Int. J. Pharm. Pharm. Sci. 2014;10:44–55.

LinkOut - more resources