Controlling progression of bacterial biofilm by herbal eye care formulation

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus causing common eye-infection ‘keratitis’ develop resistance to antibiotics by forming biofilm. Present study evaluates anti-biofilm properties of three commercially available eye care herbal formulations against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. Eye drop formulations were tested for total phenolic content and antimicrobial activity. Biofilm growth over glass in the presence of herbal formulation was examined under fluorescence microscope. The herbal formulations rich in phenolics, tested at 10% (v/v) concentration showed growth inhibitory effect on planktonic cells. During biofilm mode of growth, 10% of herbal formulation caused considerable decline in growth of biofilm, although did not inhibit it completely. The response to different herbal formulations varied markedly among the different bacterial strains tested. Herbal components can significantly affect the surface topology of biofilms, thereby restricting the attachment of the cell to the substratum.