Hindering the formation and promoting the dispersion of medical biofilms: Non-lethal effects of seagrass extracts

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Luca De Vincenti
  • Yvana Glasenapp
  • Cristina Cattò
  • Federica Villa
  • Francesca Cappitelli
  • Jutta Papenbrock

Research Organisations

External Research Organisations

  • University of Milan - Bicocca (UNIMIB)
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number168
JournalBMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Volume18
Issue number1
Early online date30 May 2018
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Abstract

Background: Biofilms have great significance in healthcare-associated infections owing to their inherent tolerance and resistance to antimicrobial therapies. New approaches to prevent and treat unwanted biofilms are urgently required. To this end, three seagrass species (Enhalus acoroides, Halophila ovalis and Halodule pinifolia) collected in Vietnam and in India were investigated for their effects in mediating non-lethal interactions on sessile bacterial (Escherichia coli) and fungal (Candida albicans) cultures. The present study was focused on anti-biofilm activities of seagrass extracts, without killing cells. Methods: Methanolic extracts were characterized, and major compounds were identified by MS/MS analysis. The antibiofilm properties of the seagrass extracts were tested at sub-lethal concentrations by using microtiter plate adhesion assay. The performance of the most promising extract was further investigated in elegant bioreactors to reproduce mature biofilms both at the solid/liquid and the solid/air interfaces. Dispersion and bioluminescent assays were carried out to decipher the mode of action of the bioactive extract. Results: It was shown that up to 100 ppm of crude extracts did not adversely affect microbial growth, nor do they act as a carbon and energy source for the selected microorganisms. Seagrass extracts appear to be more effective in deterring microbial adhesion on hydrophobic surfaces than on hydrophilic. The results revealed that non-lethal concentrations of E. acoroides leaf extract: i) reduce bacterial and fungal coverage by 60.9 and 73.9%, respectively; ii) affect bacterial biofilm maturation and promote dispersion, up to 70%, in fungal biofilm; iii) increase luminescence in Vibrio harveyi by 25.8%. The characterization of methanolic extracts showed the unique profile of the E. acoroides leaf extract. Conclusions:E. acoroides leaf extract proved to be the most promising extract among those tested. Indeed, the selected non-lethal concentrations of E. acoroides leaf extract were found to exert an antibiofilm effect on C. albicans and E. coli biofilm in the first phase of biofilm genesis, opening up the possibility of developing preventive strategies to hinder the adhesion of microbial cells to surfaces. The leaf extract also affected the dispersion and maturation steps in C. albicans and E. coli respectively, suggesting an important role in cell signaling processes.

Keywords

    Antibiofilm activity, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Non-lethal concentrations, Seagrass extracts

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

Hindering the formation and promoting the dispersion of medical biofilms: Non-lethal effects of seagrass extracts. / De Vincenti, Luca; Glasenapp, Yvana; Cattò, Cristina et al.
In: BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol. 18, No. 1, 168, 2018.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

De Vincenti L, Glasenapp Y, Cattò C, Villa F, Cappitelli F, Papenbrock J. Hindering the formation and promoting the dispersion of medical biofilms: Non-lethal effects of seagrass extracts. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2018;18(1):168. Epub 2018 May 30. doi: 10.1186/s12906-018-2232-7, 10.15488/3471
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title = "Hindering the formation and promoting the dispersion of medical biofilms: Non-lethal effects of seagrass extracts",
abstract = "Background: Biofilms have great significance in healthcare-associated infections owing to their inherent tolerance and resistance to antimicrobial therapies. New approaches to prevent and treat unwanted biofilms are urgently required. To this end, three seagrass species (Enhalus acoroides, Halophila ovalis and Halodule pinifolia) collected in Vietnam and in India were investigated for their effects in mediating non-lethal interactions on sessile bacterial (Escherichia coli) and fungal (Candida albicans) cultures. The present study was focused on anti-biofilm activities of seagrass extracts, without killing cells. Methods: Methanolic extracts were characterized, and major compounds were identified by MS/MS analysis. The antibiofilm properties of the seagrass extracts were tested at sub-lethal concentrations by using microtiter plate adhesion assay. The performance of the most promising extract was further investigated in elegant bioreactors to reproduce mature biofilms both at the solid/liquid and the solid/air interfaces. Dispersion and bioluminescent assays were carried out to decipher the mode of action of the bioactive extract. Results: It was shown that up to 100 ppm of crude extracts did not adversely affect microbial growth, nor do they act as a carbon and energy source for the selected microorganisms. Seagrass extracts appear to be more effective in deterring microbial adhesion on hydrophobic surfaces than on hydrophilic. The results revealed that non-lethal concentrations of E. acoroides leaf extract: i) reduce bacterial and fungal coverage by 60.9 and 73.9%, respectively; ii) affect bacterial biofilm maturation and promote dispersion, up to 70%, in fungal biofilm; iii) increase luminescence in Vibrio harveyi by 25.8%. The characterization of methanolic extracts showed the unique profile of the E. acoroides leaf extract. Conclusions:E. acoroides leaf extract proved to be the most promising extract among those tested. Indeed, the selected non-lethal concentrations of E. acoroides leaf extract were found to exert an antibiofilm effect on C. albicans and E. coli biofilm in the first phase of biofilm genesis, opening up the possibility of developing preventive strategies to hinder the adhesion of microbial cells to surfaces. The leaf extract also affected the dispersion and maturation steps in C. albicans and E. coli respectively, suggesting an important role in cell signaling processes.",
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note = "Funding information: This work was supported by the German-Italian bilateral project “Bioactive secondary compounds from halophyte species inhibit biofilm formation of plant-pathogenic microorganisms on plant surfaces” (SAB-HAL), MIUR-DAAD Joint Mobility Program, ID-57265315.",
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Download

TY - JOUR

T1 - Hindering the formation and promoting the dispersion of medical biofilms: Non-lethal effects of seagrass extracts

AU - De Vincenti, Luca

AU - Glasenapp, Yvana

AU - Cattò, Cristina

AU - Villa, Federica

AU - Cappitelli, Francesca

AU - Papenbrock, Jutta

N1 - Funding information: This work was supported by the German-Italian bilateral project “Bioactive secondary compounds from halophyte species inhibit biofilm formation of plant-pathogenic microorganisms on plant surfaces” (SAB-HAL), MIUR-DAAD Joint Mobility Program, ID-57265315.

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Background: Biofilms have great significance in healthcare-associated infections owing to their inherent tolerance and resistance to antimicrobial therapies. New approaches to prevent and treat unwanted biofilms are urgently required. To this end, three seagrass species (Enhalus acoroides, Halophila ovalis and Halodule pinifolia) collected in Vietnam and in India were investigated for their effects in mediating non-lethal interactions on sessile bacterial (Escherichia coli) and fungal (Candida albicans) cultures. The present study was focused on anti-biofilm activities of seagrass extracts, without killing cells. Methods: Methanolic extracts were characterized, and major compounds were identified by MS/MS analysis. The antibiofilm properties of the seagrass extracts were tested at sub-lethal concentrations by using microtiter plate adhesion assay. The performance of the most promising extract was further investigated in elegant bioreactors to reproduce mature biofilms both at the solid/liquid and the solid/air interfaces. Dispersion and bioluminescent assays were carried out to decipher the mode of action of the bioactive extract. Results: It was shown that up to 100 ppm of crude extracts did not adversely affect microbial growth, nor do they act as a carbon and energy source for the selected microorganisms. Seagrass extracts appear to be more effective in deterring microbial adhesion on hydrophobic surfaces than on hydrophilic. The results revealed that non-lethal concentrations of E. acoroides leaf extract: i) reduce bacterial and fungal coverage by 60.9 and 73.9%, respectively; ii) affect bacterial biofilm maturation and promote dispersion, up to 70%, in fungal biofilm; iii) increase luminescence in Vibrio harveyi by 25.8%. The characterization of methanolic extracts showed the unique profile of the E. acoroides leaf extract. Conclusions:E. acoroides leaf extract proved to be the most promising extract among those tested. Indeed, the selected non-lethal concentrations of E. acoroides leaf extract were found to exert an antibiofilm effect on C. albicans and E. coli biofilm in the first phase of biofilm genesis, opening up the possibility of developing preventive strategies to hinder the adhesion of microbial cells to surfaces. The leaf extract also affected the dispersion and maturation steps in C. albicans and E. coli respectively, suggesting an important role in cell signaling processes.

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KW - Candida albicans

KW - Escherichia coli

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