Antibiotic resistance has become a major global health concern due to the emergence of carbapenem-resistant bacterial species that diminish the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics. Because of this, researchers are increasingly turning to herbal products as alternative sources of antibacterial compounds. The present study aimed to evaluate the phytochemical profile and effectiveness of Withania coagulans activity on carbapenem-resistant pathogens. The phytochemicals were extracted by the Soxhlet extraction method with different solvents and major phytochemicals were quantified and analyzed by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antibacterial effect of the standard and extract was determined by the disc diffusion method as per Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines against drug resistant pathogens and the compound interaction was studied by the in silico docking method. The polar solvent showed significant yield and content of phytochemicals. The maximum yield was 3.42 %, with 11.67 mg/g of alkaloids, 12.13 mg/g of flavonoids and 6.87 mg/g of phenols, followed by ethyl acetate. Antibiotic resistance among clinical isolates was found to be 67.5 % for the resistant pattern to imipenem, followed by doripenem (62.5 %), ertapenem (60 %) and meropenem (57.5 %). The effect of extract on resistant strains was best in nonpolar extraction and less significant among polar solvents. The hexane extract and chloroform extract had the highest inhibition (26 mm), especially on Proteus vulgaris and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Molecular docking of the GC-MS-produced molecule 2,4-Dihydroxypropiophenone has shown that the molecule is a good binding molecule in the carbapenemase active site, confirming the antibacterial activity of the extract. The findings confirm that the extract of W. coagulans had significant antibacterial activity and could serve as a promising natural phytoremedy to overcome the emerging extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) drug resistance infections. Formulation with nanotechnology and in vivo studies will be essential to validate the therapeutic potential for future clinical application.
Ishwarya et al. (Fri,) studied this question.