Antibacterial and Antidiarrheal Activities of Plant Products against Enterotoxinogenic Escherichia coli
Authors
J Dubreuil
Département de pathologie et microbiologie, Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada; E-Mail: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-450-773-8521 (ext.8433); Fax: +1-450-778-8108
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) produces two types of enterotoxins: heat-labile (LT) and heat-stable (STa and STb). These molecules are involved in the induction of secretory diarrhea in animals including humans. This condition is currently treated using a fluid replacement therapy and antibiotics. This treatment is often not available to people in developing countries, and several die from the condition provoke by ETEC. Over the years, plants and plant extracts have been use as traditional medicine to treat various gastrointestinal ailments including diarrhea. Many of these plant products have been claimed to be active against diarrhea, however few have been extensively studied. The main objective of this review was to gather the scattered information on the antidiarrheal activities reported for various plant products on ETEC. This includes two major effects: (1) The inhibitory effect on bacterial growth or viability and (2) The interference with ETEC enterotoxins activity upon the intestinal epithelium. We will focus on plant products and extracts for which we have major indications of their biological activity against ETEC and their enterotoxins. Because Vibrio cholerae toxin (CT) is structurally, antigenically and mechanistically related to LT, it will also be discussed in this review.
Keywords: enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, plant product, enterotoxin, antibacterial, diarrhea, treatment, traditional medicine, toxin inhibition, secretion, extracts
Click on "Archives" to access the full archive of scientific preprints. You may use the categories and the search functionality to find select preprints you're interested in.
