AUTHOR=Liu Wei , Chen Guang , Dou Keke , Yi Bingcheng , Wang Danyang , Zhou Qihui , Sun Yunbo 

TITLE=Eugenol eliminates carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae via reactive oxygen species mechanism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1090787

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1090787

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections have gained increasing attention due to the high incidence rates and high mortality, especially for the carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infection that can cause severe complications (e.g., pneumonia and sepsis) in multiple organs. Given the excellent antibacterial/biofilm activity of eugenol (EG) against CRKP, this study mainly explored the underlying mechanism of EG-mediated antibacterial/biofilm situation in CRKP from the aspect of ROS. Bacteria growth and biofilm formation evaluation verified the excellent antibacterial ability of EG against planktonic CRKP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and O-Nitrobenzene β-D-galactoside (ONPG) tests demonstrated that EG eliminated the CRKP via destroying the bacteria's membrane permeability. Lastly, detection of ROS production and cytoplasmic component leakage showed that EG could induced the high ROS expression of CRKP to break the bacteria’s membrane and inhibit biofilm formation, which ultimately resulted in bacterial death. Overall, this work verified that EG could eliminated CRKP via ROS-induced membrane rupture and biofilm inhibition, which offers vital evidences to explain the antibacterial ability of EG against CRKP.