Antimicrobial Potential of Naturally Occurring Bioactive Secondary Metabolites

The use of traditional medicines of natural origin has been prevalent since ancient times globally as the plants produce a great diversity in their secondary metabolites. The naturally occurring bioactive constituents in food and other plant materials have shown widespread attention for their use as alternative medicine to prevent and cure microbial growth with the least toxic manifestations. The inclusion of these contents revealed their crucial role to improve the therapeutic efficacy of the classical drugs against various pathogenic microorganisms. Furthermore, several metabolites have also been explored in combination with antimicrobial agents to overcome the problems associated with drug resistance. This current review discusses the antimicrobial activities of secondary metabolites as well as their role in drug sensitivity against multiple-drug resistant pathogenic microbes.

Automated summary

The global use of traditional medicines of natural origin has been prevalent since ancient times due to the great diversity of secondary metabolites produced by plants. The naturally occurring bioactive constituents in food and other plant materials have shown widespread attention for their use as alternative medicine to prevent and cure microbial growth, with the least toxic manifestations. These contents play a crucial role in improving the therapeutic efficacy of classical drugs against various pathogenic microorganisms.