Revista de Patología Vegetal y Microbiología

Abstracto

Inhibition of Quorum Sensing Activity by Ethanol Extract of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi

Cong Song, Hong Ma, Qian Zhao, Shuishan Song and Zhenhua Jia

Many Gram-negative bacteria use N-acyl homoserine lactone signal molecules to monitor their own population density and coordinate gene regulation in a process called quorum sensing (QS). Because the regulation of many bacterial processes is controlled by QS systems, the finding of natural compounds acting as QS inhibitors suggest an attractive tool to control and handle detrimental infections caused by human, animal, and plant pathogens. To search for a novel quorum sensing inhibitor and analyze its inhibitory activity, we tested 13 Chinese traditional medicinal plants for their ability to inhibit QS-regulated behaviors in different bacterial species. Plant materials were extracted using water or 70% ethanol. The ethanolic extract from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi was found to inhibit violacein production, a QS-regulated behavior in Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. In addition, the ethanolic extract was also able to inhibit QS-regulated virulence in Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. Carotovorum. Our results indicated that Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi can inhibit bacterial quorum sensing.