Phenolic compounds from Origanum majorana with biofilm-inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains

Context Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a growing global problem, with biofilm formation and efflux pumps playing crucial roles in this issue.Objective This study explores the effects of phenolic compounds of Origanum majorana against Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus au...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Annamária Kincses, Tasneem Sultan Abu Ghazal, Katalin Veres, Gabriella Spengler, Judit Hohmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Pharmaceutical Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/13880209.2025.2511805
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849696374933684224
author Annamária Kincses
Tasneem Sultan Abu Ghazal
Katalin Veres
Gabriella Spengler
Judit Hohmann
author_facet Annamária Kincses
Tasneem Sultan Abu Ghazal
Katalin Veres
Gabriella Spengler
Judit Hohmann
author_sort Annamária Kincses
collection DOAJ
description Context Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a growing global problem, with biofilm formation and efflux pumps playing crucial roles in this issue.Objective This study explores the effects of phenolic compounds of Origanum majorana against Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains by inhibiting biofilm formation and efflux pumps.Materials and methods The methanolic extract of O. majorana was fractionated guided by an antibiofilm assay, and the active fractions were analyzed by multistep chromatographic separation to yield five pure compounds. Their structures were then determined using 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the extracts, fractions, and isolated compounds were determined via the microdilution method in a 96-well plate. Antibiofilm activity was assessed using the crystal violet method, and the effect on efflux pumps was tested by a real-time ethidium bromide accumulation assay.Results Arbutin (1), apigenin 7-O-glucoside (2), 6′-caffeoylarbutin (3), rosmarinic acid (4), and 2-deoxy-d-1,4-ribonolactone (5) were isolated from the aqueous methanolic extract. Compounds 1, 2, and 4 reduced E. coli biofilm formation by 24.82%–42.98% at 100 µM, whereas only arbutin (1) moderately suppressed biofilm formation of MRSA (23.15 ± 1.56% at 50 µM). Arbutin also demonstrated efflux pump inhibitory activity against MRSA (relative fluorescence index of 0.49 at 100 µM).Discussion and conclusions The newly discovered natural antibiofilm agents show promise as candidates for treating biofilm-associated infections and combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
format Article
id doaj-art-afcbe25602c349f29dfdd351a8957c2d
institution DOAJ
issn 1388-0209
1744-5116
language English
publishDate 2025-12-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Pharmaceutical Biology
spelling doaj-art-afcbe25602c349f29dfdd351a8957c2d2025-08-20T03:19:28ZengTaylor & Francis GroupPharmaceutical Biology1388-02091744-51162025-12-0163140241010.1080/13880209.2025.2511805Phenolic compounds from Origanum majorana with biofilm-inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strainsAnnamária Kincses0Tasneem Sultan Abu Ghazal1Katalin Veres2Gabriella Spengler3Judit Hohmann4Institute of Pharmacognosy, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungaryInstitute of Pharmacognosy, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungaryInstitute of Pharmacognosy, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungaryDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Health Center and Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungaryInstitute of Pharmacognosy, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungaryContext Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a growing global problem, with biofilm formation and efflux pumps playing crucial roles in this issue.Objective This study explores the effects of phenolic compounds of Origanum majorana against Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains by inhibiting biofilm formation and efflux pumps.Materials and methods The methanolic extract of O. majorana was fractionated guided by an antibiofilm assay, and the active fractions were analyzed by multistep chromatographic separation to yield five pure compounds. Their structures were then determined using 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the extracts, fractions, and isolated compounds were determined via the microdilution method in a 96-well plate. Antibiofilm activity was assessed using the crystal violet method, and the effect on efflux pumps was tested by a real-time ethidium bromide accumulation assay.Results Arbutin (1), apigenin 7-O-glucoside (2), 6′-caffeoylarbutin (3), rosmarinic acid (4), and 2-deoxy-d-1,4-ribonolactone (5) were isolated from the aqueous methanolic extract. Compounds 1, 2, and 4 reduced E. coli biofilm formation by 24.82%–42.98% at 100 µM, whereas only arbutin (1) moderately suppressed biofilm formation of MRSA (23.15 ± 1.56% at 50 µM). Arbutin also demonstrated efflux pump inhibitory activity against MRSA (relative fluorescence index of 0.49 at 100 µM).Discussion and conclusions The newly discovered natural antibiofilm agents show promise as candidates for treating biofilm-associated infections and combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/13880209.2025.2511805Origanum majoranabiofilm formationefflux pumprosmarinic acidarbutinapigenin 7-O-glucoside
spellingShingle Annamária Kincses
Tasneem Sultan Abu Ghazal
Katalin Veres
Gabriella Spengler
Judit Hohmann
Phenolic compounds from Origanum majorana with biofilm-inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains
Pharmaceutical Biology
Origanum majorana
biofilm formation
efflux pump
rosmarinic acid
arbutin
apigenin 7-O-glucoside
title Phenolic compounds from Origanum majorana with biofilm-inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains
title_full Phenolic compounds from Origanum majorana with biofilm-inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains
title_fullStr Phenolic compounds from Origanum majorana with biofilm-inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains
title_full_unstemmed Phenolic compounds from Origanum majorana with biofilm-inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains
title_short Phenolic compounds from Origanum majorana with biofilm-inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains
title_sort phenolic compounds from origanum majorana with biofilm inhibitory activity against methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus and escherichia coli strains
topic Origanum majorana
biofilm formation
efflux pump
rosmarinic acid
arbutin
apigenin 7-O-glucoside
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/13880209.2025.2511805
work_keys_str_mv AT annamariakincses phenoliccompoundsfromoriganummajoranawithbiofilminhibitoryactivityagainstmethicillinresistantstaphylococcusaureusandescherichiacolistrains
AT tasneemsultanabughazal phenoliccompoundsfromoriganummajoranawithbiofilminhibitoryactivityagainstmethicillinresistantstaphylococcusaureusandescherichiacolistrains
AT katalinveres phenoliccompoundsfromoriganummajoranawithbiofilminhibitoryactivityagainstmethicillinresistantstaphylococcusaureusandescherichiacolistrains
AT gabriellaspengler phenoliccompoundsfromoriganummajoranawithbiofilminhibitoryactivityagainstmethicillinresistantstaphylococcusaureusandescherichiacolistrains
AT judithohmann phenoliccompoundsfromoriganummajoranawithbiofilminhibitoryactivityagainstmethicillinresistantstaphylococcusaureusandescherichiacolistrains