In vitro antibacterial activity of native and encapsulated mangiferin against ESKAPE bacteria

Nowadays, one of the major healthcare problems is the strong increase in the prevalence of resistant bacterial infections. The ESKAPE group (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp) is defined among clinically relevant bacteria, as these pathogens cause the majority of nosocomial infections and have increasing multidrug resistance and virulence. One of the options for alternative treatment of resistant bacterial infections is the use of natural bioactive agents derived from plants with antibacterial properties. The effectiveness of these natural compounds consists in their chemical composition, which allows them to affect multiple sites of bacterial cells and disrupt their essential biological processes. In addition, due to their diverse mechanisms of action, plant secondary metabolites are less likely to induce resistance in pathogens.

Mangiferin is a unique xanthone derivative, one of the main sources of which is Mangifera indica. Besides antibacterial activity, this secondary metabolite has numerous pharmacological effects, including antioxidant, antiviral, antidiabetic, anticancer, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, analgesic and anti-aging properties.

In vitro studies have shown that mangiferin has a synergistic effect when used with existing antibiotics and/or exhibits an independent inhibitory effect against almost all ESKAPE group bacteria. In addition, there is an opportunity to improve the antibacterial properties of secondary metabolites using various methods, including loading them into polymer matrix-based delivery systems.

In this work, we collected information on the antibacterial properties of mangiferin against the ESKAPE group of pathogens. This review will contribute to future antimicrobial studies of this bioactive compound and to the search for methods of its encapsulation to improve these properties.

This research was funded by the Russian Science Foundation, project number 24-23-00269. Link to information about the project: https://rscf.ru/en/project/24-23-00269/