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Exploring Common Culinary Herbs and Spices as Potential Anti-Quorum Sensing Agents
Sekelwa Cosa1, Sushil Kumar Chaudhary2, Weiyang Chen3
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. sekelwa.cosa@gmail.com.
Nutrients
|April 3, 2019
Summary
Culinary herbs like liquorice and celery contain compounds that disrupt bacterial communication, reducing virulence. Celery
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Natural Products Chemistry
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Quorum sensing (QS) is crucial for bacterial pathogenesis and virulence.
- Targeting QS offers a novel strategy for combating bacterial infections.
- Many traditional herbs and spices possess antimicrobial properties that warrant investigation for QS inhibition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To screen common culinary herbs and spices for anti-quorum sensing (AQS) activity.
- To identify specific compounds responsible for AQS activity.
- To provide scientific validation for the anti-infective properties of culinary herbs.
Main Methods:
- Screening of 14 culinary herb and spice extracts against *Chromobacterium violaceum*.
- Determination of anti-antipathogenicity activity by measuring opaque halo zones and violacein production.
- Analysis of celery extract using high-performance thin-layer chromatography-bio-autography (HPTLC-bio-autography).
- Isolation and identification of the active compound using preparative-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (Prep-HPLC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
Main Results:
- Extracts of *Glycyrrhiza glabra* (liquorice), *Apium graveolens* (celery), *Capsicum annuum* (cayenne pepper), and *Syzygium anisatum* (aniseed) showed significant AQS potential.
- Celery extract demonstrated substantial reduction in violacein production (56.4–97.3%) and produced distinct inhibition zones.
- The major active compound isolated from celery was identified as 3-n-butyl-4,5-dihydrophthalide (sedanenolide), likely responsible for the AQS activity.
Conclusions:
- Several common culinary herbs and spices possess significant anti-quorum sensing activity.
- Sedanenolide, isolated from celery, is a key compound mediating anti-quorum sensing effects.
- This study supports the scientific basis for using certain herbs and spices as anti-infective agents by targeting bacterial communication.
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