Ethyl Pyruvate: An Anti-Microbial Agent that Selectively Targets Pathobionts and Biofilms.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27658257.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0162919 and PMC identifier 5033407.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The microbiota has a strong influence on health and disease in humans. A causative shift favoring pathobionts is strongly linked to diseases. Therefore, anti-microbial agents selectively targeting potential pathogens as well as their biofilms are urgently demanded. Here we demonstrate the impact of ethyl pyruvate, so far known as ROS scavenger and anti-inflammatory agent, on planktonic microbes and biofilms. Ethyl pyruvate combats preferably the growth of pathobionts belonging to bacteria and fungi independent of the genera and prevailing drug resistance. Surprisingly, this anti-microbial agent preserves symbionts like Lactobacillus species. Moreover, ethyl pyruvate prevents the formation of biofilms and promotes matured biofilms dissolution. This potentially new anti-microbial and anti-biofilm agent could have a tremendous positive impact on human, veterinary medicine and technical industry as well.