Taylor, P;
(2017)
Impact of Green Tea Catechins on Multi-Drug-Resistant Bacterial Pathogens.
In: Hara, Y and Yang, CS and Isemura, M and Tomita, I, (eds.)
Health benefits of green tea: an evidence-based approach.
(pp. 147-156).
Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International: Wallingford, UK.
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Abstract
Catechin gallates have weak direct antibacterial activity but are able to substantially and reversibly modify the properties of multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a problematical opportunistic pathogen responsible for an enormous number of hospital-acquired and community infections worldwide. In particular, MRSA strains that have acquired resistance genes to β-lactam antibiotics, the penicillins and cephalosporins, compromise the therapeutic utility of these frontline drugs. Resistance to β-lactam agents can be completely abrogated by exposure of MRSA strains to catechin gallates, particularly (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECg); the compounds also prevent formation of biofilms and substantially reduce the virulence of MRSA. We have shown that the complex, ECg-induced staphylococcal phenotype is due to intercalation of ECg into the cytoplasmic membrane of the bacterial cells; incorporation of molecules deep within the hydrophobic core of the lipid palisade forces a reconfiguration of the membrane to provide a sub-optimal environment for proteins embedded in the staphylococcal membrane. In particular, the orderly function of the septal division machinery in MRSA, incorporating the penicillin binding protein PBP2a responsible for β-lactam resistance, is compromised leading to loss of resistance to all β-lactam antibiotics. Catechin gallates are attractive candidates as adjuncts to conventional antibacterial chemotherapy but improvements in stability, absorption and pharmacokinetic profile through chemical engineering would substantially increase their potential as agents for therapeutic intervention.
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