Synergistic Antibacterial Activity of Medicinal Plant Extracts Combined with Conventional Antibiotics Against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria

Vijay kantilal Bhavanani; Pramod kumar Mahour

doi:10.69968/ijisem.2026v5i2322-333

Authors

Vijay kantilal Bhavanani PhD Research scholar, Department of Chemistry, Monark University, Ahmedabad, India (vijaybhavanani007@gmail.com)
Pramod kumar Mahour Research Supervisor, Department of Chemistry, Monark University, Ahmedabad, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69968/ijisem.2026v5i2322-333

Keywords:

Antimicrobial resistance, Multidrug-resistant bacteria, Medicinal plant extracts, Antibiotic synergy, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli

Abstract

In industries, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is radically changing organizational structures, leadership practices, and employee experiences. AI technologies like automation, machine learning, predictive analytics, and intelligent systems have been rapidly integrated into the modern world and hence have posed both opportunities and challenges for organizations, especially in India. This paper review explores how employees adapt to uncertainty in AI, the psychological impacts of its use, emotional intelligence, and its influence on employee well-being in Indian organizations. The research sheds light on the impact of AI-induced changes in the workplace on employee behavior, job security perceptions, workplace stress and organizational relationships. It also highlights the need for emotionally intelligent and adaptive leadership strategies to help staff through technological change. The review also discusses the psychological challenges faced by employees and the strategies organizations can adopt to ensure employee well-being and resilience in AI-enabled workplaces. The paper summarizes the latest available literature to find out the new practices, challenges in organizations and research trends related to the use of AI in leadership. The study concludes that human-centered leadership and employee-oriented organizational policies are crucial for sustainable growth and effective human-AI collaboration.

References

[1] Ahmad, I., Aqil, F., & Owais, M. (2018). Modern phytomedicine: Turning medicinal plants into drugs. Wiley-Blackwell.

[2] Alibi, S., Selma, W. B., Ramos-Vivas, J., Smach, M. A., Touati, R., Boukadida, J., & Navas, J. (2020). Anti-oxidant, antibacterial, and antibiofilm activities of phenolic-rich extracts from medicinal plants. Microbial Pathogenesis, 141, 104047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpath.2020.104047

[3] Anand, U., Jacobo-Herrera, N., Altemimi, A., & Lakhssassi, N. (2019). A comprehensive review on medicinal plants as antimicrobial therapeutics. Food Science and Human Wellness, 8(4), 279–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fshw.2019.09.001

[4] Batiha, G. E., Alkazmi, L. M., Wasef, L. G., Beshbishy, A. M., Nadwa, E. H., & Rashwan, E. K. (2020). Syzygium aromaticum L. (Myrtaceae): Traditional uses, bioactive chemical constituents, pharmacological and toxicological activities. Biomolecules, 10(2), 202.

[5] Brown, E. D., & Wright, G. D. (2016). Antibacterial drug discovery in the resistance era. Nature, 529(7586), 336–343. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17042

[6] Chandra, H., Bishnoi, P., Yadav, A., Patni, B., Mishra, A. P., & Nautiyal, A. R. (2017). Antimicrobial resistance and the alternative resources with special emphasis on plant-based antimicrobials. Plants, 6(2), 16.

[7] Cheesman, M. J., Ilanko, A., Blonk, B., & Cock, I. E. (2017). Developing new antimicrobial therapies: Are synergistic combinations of plant extracts/compounds with conventional antibiotics the solution? Pharmacognosy Reviews, 11(22), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.4103/phrev.phrev_21_17

[8] Cowan, M. M. (2016). Plant products as antimicrobial agents. Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 12(4), 564–582.

[9] Daglia, M. (2017). Polyphenols as antimicrobial agents. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 23(2), 174–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2011.08.007

[10] Darby, E. M., Trampari, E., & Siasat, P. (2023). Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance revisited. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 21(5), 280–295.

[11] Davies, J., & Davies, D. (2016). Origins and evolution of antibiotic resistance. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 74(3), 417–433. https://doi.org/10.1128/MMBR.00016-10

[12] Dzotam, J. K., Touani, F. K., & Kuete, V. (2016). Antibacterial and antibiotic-modifying activities of three food plants against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 16(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-016-0990-7

[13] Frieri, M., Kumar, K., & Boutin, A. (2017). Antibiotic resistance. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 10(4), 369–378.

[14] Górniak, I., Bartoszewski, R., & Króliczewski, J. (2019). Comprehensive review of antimicrobial activities of plant flavonoids. Phytochemistry Reviews, 18(1), 241–272.

[15] Gupta, P. D., & Birdi, T. J. (2017). Development of botanicals to combat antibiotic resistance. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 8(4), 266–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaim.2017.05.004

[16] Hutchings, M. I., Truman, A. W., & Wilkinson, B. (2019). Antibiotics: Past, present and future. Current Opinion in Microbiology, 51, 72–80.

[17] Iwu, C. D., & Okoh, A. I. (2019). Preharvest transmission routes of fresh produce associated bacterial pathogens with outbreak potentials: A review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(22), 4407.

[18] Jeong, J. Y., Kim, J. H., Lee, S. H., & Kim, Y. S. (2023). In vitro synergistic inhibitory effects of plant extract combinations against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Pharmaceuticals, 16(10), 1491.

[19] Karunanidhi, A., Thomas, R., van Belkum, A., & Neela, V. (2021). Resistance patterns and mechanisms in multidrug-resistant bacteria. Antibiotics, 10(3), 328. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10030328

[20] Khan, H., Ullah, H., & Castilho, P. C. (2019). Targeting underlying pathways of phytochemicals in cancer prevention and therapy. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 110, 556–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2018.11.098

[21] Kuete, V., & Efferth, T. (2018). Pharmacogenomics of Cameroonian traditional herbal medicine for cancer therapy. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 213, 223–249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2017.10.021

[22] Kumar, M., Sarma, D. K., Shubham, S., Kumawat, M., Verma, V., Nina, P. B., & Singh, B. (2021). Futuristic non-antibiotic therapies to combat antibiotic resistance: A review. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, 609459.

[23] Laxminarayan, R., Matsoso, P., Pant, S., Brower, C., Røttingen, J. A., Klugman, K., & Davies, S. (2016). Access to effective antimicrobials: A worldwide challenge. The Lancet, 387(10014), 168–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00474-2

[24] Mahady, G. B. (2017). Medicinal plants for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 11(19), 2405–2427.

[25] Mbaveng, A. T., & Kuete, V. (2017). Synergy effects between antibiotic drugs and plant extracts against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening, 20(5), 1–18.

[26] Murray, C. J. L., Ikuta, K. S., Sharara, F., Swetschinski, L., Aguilar, G. R., Gray, A., & Naghavi, M. (2022). Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: A systematic analysis. The Lancet, 399(10325), 629–655. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02724-0

[27] Negi, P. S. (2018). Plant extracts for the control of bacterial growth: Efficacy, stability and safety issues for food application. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 156(1), 7–17.

[28] Nirmala, M. J., Samundeeswari, A., & Sankar, P. D. (2020). Natural plant resources in anti-cancer therapy—A review. Research in Plant Biology, 1(3), 1–14.

[29] O’Neill, J. (2016). Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: Final report and recommendations. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.

[30] Prestinaci, F., Pezzotti, P., & Pantosti, A. (2016). Antimicrobial resistance: A global multifaceted phenomenon. Pathogens and Global Health, 109(7), 309–318. https://doi.org/10.1179/2047773215Y.0000000030

[31] Rather, I. A., Kim, B. C., Bajpai, V. K., & Park, Y. H. (2017). Self-medication and antibiotic resistance: Crisis, current challenges, and prevention. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 24(4), 808–812.

[32] Saleem, M., Nazir, M., Ali, M. S., Hussain, H., Lee, Y. S., Riaz, N., & Jabbar, A. (2017). Antimicrobial natural products: An update on future antibiotic drug candidates. Natural Product Reports, 27(2), 238–254.

[33] Sharifi-Rad, J., Salehi, B., Stojanović-Radić, Z., Fokou, P. V. T., Sharifi-Rad, M., Mahady, G. B., & Martins, N. (2019). Medicinal plants used in the treatment of tuberculosis—Ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological approaches. Biotechnology Advances, 36(1), 291–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2017.07.001

[34] Singh, R., Shushni, M. A. M., & Belkheir, A. (2018). Antibacterial and antioxidant activities of Mentha piperita L. Arabian Journal of Chemistry, 8(3), 322–328.

[35] Tacconelli, E., Carrara, E., Savoldi, A., Harbarth, S., Mendelson, M., Monnet, D. L., & Magrini, N. (2018). Discovery, research, and development of new antibiotics: The WHO priority list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 18(3), 318–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30753-3

[36] Ventola, C. L. (2017). The antibiotic resistance crisis: Causes and threats. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 40(4), 277–283.

[37] Wang, L., Hu, C., & Shao, L. (2017). The antimicrobial activity of nanoparticles: Present situation and prospects for the future. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 12, 1227–1249. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S121956

[38] World Health Organization. (2020). Antimicrobial resistance. WHO Press.

[39] World Health Organization. (2023). Global antimicrobial resistance and use surveillance system (GLASS) report 2023. WHO Press.

[40] Yadav, M., Chatterji, S., Gupta, S. K., & Watal, G. (2017). Preliminary phytochemical screening of six medicinal plants used in traditional medicine. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 6(5), 539–542.

[41] Yang, S. C., Lin, C. H., Aljuffali, I. A., & Fang, J. Y. (2017). Current pathogenic Escherichia coli foodborne outbreak cases and therapy development. Archives of Microbiology, 199(6), 811–825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-017-1393-y

[42] Yuan, H., Ma, Q., Ye, L., & Piao, G. (2016). The traditional medicine and modern medicine from natural products. Molecules, 21(5), 559.

[43] Zazharskyi, V., Davydenko, P., Kulishenko, O., Borovik, I., Brygadyrenko, V., & Kryvaya, A. (2019). Antibacterial and fungicidal activities of ethanol extracts of 38 species of plants. Ukrainian Journal of Ecology, 9(3), 281–286.

[44] Zhao, X., Yu, Z., Ding, T., & Qu, F. (2020). Biofilm formation and control strategies of foodborne pathogens. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, 1313. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01313

[45] Zouine, N., El Barnossi, A., Moussaid, F., & Iraqi Housseini, A. (2024). A comprehensive review on medicinal plant extracts as antibacterial agents against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 18, 101458.