ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Aquatic Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1615029
Antibacterial activity of baicalein against Aeromonas hydrophila: in vitro and in vivo evaluation
Provisionally accepted
- 1Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, Henan Province, China
- 2Lake Superior State University, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States
- 3Aquatic Life Epidemic Prevention Center of Huidong, Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Huidong, Hui Zhou, China
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Aeromonas hydrophila (AH) is a pathogenic bacterium commonly found in aquatic fish products. Baicalein, a bioactive flavone derived from traditional Chinese herbal medicine, exhibits diverse pharmacological properties, including anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory effects.This study evaluated the antibacterial activity of baicalein against AH infection.Baicalein showed in vitro bacteriostatic activity against AH, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and a minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 40 μg/mL and 80 μg/mL, respectively. A time-kill assay confirmed its bactericidal properties. Additionally, baicalein inhibited biofilm formation and impaired bacterial motility. The antibacterial mechanism of baicalein involved increased membrane permeability and structural disruption of AH. In vivo experiments in grass carp demonstrated a dose-dependent reduction of AH burden following baicalein administration. Furthermore, baicalein suppressed the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), while upregulating the expression of antioxidant-related genes, such as catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). These findings suggest that the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of baicalein contribute to its protective role against AH infection in vivo. Collectively, this study highlights baicalein as a promising pharmacotherapeutic candidate for preventing AH infections in fish.
Keywords: Baicalein, Aeromonas hydrophila, Antibacterial, Biofilm, Grass carp
Received: 20 Apr 2025; Accepted: 23 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qiu, LI, Jiang, Yu, Li, Xie, Lei and Yao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yang Lei, Aquatic Life Epidemic Prevention Center of Huidong, Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Huidong, Hui Zhou, China
Lunguang Yao, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, Henan Province, China
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