Potential application of vitamins to combat biofilm-mediated drug resistance by pathogenic bacteria

Biofilm is one of the causes of pathogenic bacteria's resistance to drugs. Vitamins, essential for maintaining various physiological functions within the animal body, have been observed to influence biofilm inhibition. The vitamins A, C, D, E, K, B6, and B12 possess notable anti-biofilm activity against specific pathogens, which have been reported extensively over the last few years, highlighting their potential in combating microbial infections. Vitamins B and K possess anti-quorum-sensing effects, which also contribute to the reduction of virulence factor expression of pathogenic bacteria. Many research reports have identified the incremental effectiveness of antibiotics when combined with various vitamins against bacterial infections, demonstrating a synergistic relationship between vitamins and conventional antibiotics that enhances the efficacy of antibiotics against the biofilm-mediated drug resistance capacity of microbes. According to current research, many vitamins, including vitamin A, D, and K, are responsible for binding to key proteins involved in biofilm production. However, the mechanisms of action of vitamins in combination with antibiotics against microbes require further elucidation to compensate for the existing information gap. This comprehensive review highlights, for the first time, that the least toxic biological molecules, "vitamins," can potentially manage biofilm-related microbial infections and enhance the therapeutic options available to clinicians.