Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Properties of Medicinal Plants
Summary
Medicinal plants have long provided a reservoir of bioactive compounds with potent antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects. Secondary metabolites such as polyphenols, terpenoids and alkaloids act through diverse mechanisms, including disruption of microbial membranes, inhibition of key enzymes and interference with nucleic acid synthesis. Concurrently, certain phytochemicals induce programmed cell death in malignant cells by triggering mitochondrial dysfunction, activating caspases and arresting the cell cycle. Growing antimicrobial resistance has renewed interest in plant-derived agents as alternatives or adjuncts to synthetic antibiotics, while the search for novel anticancer leads emphasises the dual potential of many herbal extracts. Advances in extraction, fractionation and analytical techniques have enabled identification of active fractions and structural motifs that inform rational drug design. Ultimately, understanding the interplay between traditional knowledge and modern pharmacology is essential to harness these natural products for global health challenges, spanning infectious diseases and oncology.
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Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Properties of Medicinal Plants publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties of medicinal plants across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC): the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial agent that prevents visible growth of a microorganism under defined conditions.
Biofilm: a structured community of microorganisms adhered to a surface and embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix, often showing increased resistance to antimicrobials.
Cytotoxicity: the quality of a substance being toxic to cells, measured by assays that assess cell viability or function in vitro.
Apoptosis: a form of regulated cell death characterized by cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation and caspase activation, distinct from necrosis.
Sesquiterpene lactone: a class of terpenoid compounds containing a 15-carbon backbone and a lactone ring, frequently associated with antimicrobial and anticancer activities.
References
- Antioxidant: Antimycobacterial and Antibiofilm Activities of Acetone Extract and Subfraction Artemisia afra Jacq. ex Willd. Against Mycobacterium smegmatis. Antibiotics (2024).
- Extractives from Artemisia afra with Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Fungal Properties. Plants (2023).
- Anti-Salmonella activity of plant species in the Benin republic: Artemisia afra and Detarium senegalense with promising in vitro and in vivo activities. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (2022).
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