Natural phytochemical-based strategies for antibiofilm applications

作者：Kangyu Zhou, Mengyao Shi, Ruyi Chen, Yang Zhang, Yunjie Sheng, Chaoying Tong, Gang Cao, Dan Shou · 发表于：Chinese Medicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s13020-025-01147-5 · 被引用次数：45 · 研究领域：Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing、Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity、Phenothiazines and Benzothiazines Synthesis and Activities

BACKGROUND: Biofilms contribute to the persistence of infectious diseases, complicate the treatment of chronic infections and pose a significant global health threat. However, the effectiveness of antibacterial therapies is often limited by poor penetration of antibiotics, as well as the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes among bacteria. Phytochemicals remain a promising source for developing novel antibiofilm agents. METHODS: A systematic search of literatures was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Google scholar, and CNKI, with keywords related to "phytochemicals", "natural products", "natural compounds", "alkaloids", "polyphenols", "terpenoids", "quinones", "nanomaterials", "biofilms", "biofilm formation", "biofilm inhibition", and "structure-activity relationship" focusing on studies published from 2014 to 2025. RESULTS: A total of 38 most extensively studied natural phytochemicals, including alkaloids, flavonoids (i.e., flavonols, flavanols, and chalcones), quinones, non-flavonoid polyphenols, terpenes and others, were systematically screened based on relevant articles from the past decade. Phytochemicals mainly work by targeting quorum sensing systems, reducing virulence factor production, preventing the initial adhesion and targeting the extracellular polymeric substances of biofilms. Well-designed phytochemical-based nanomaterials can enhance permeability, drug loading efficiency, target drug delivery and sustained drug release of phytochemicals, ...