FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2011 Feb 8. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-695X.2011.00787.x. [Epub ahead of print]
Effects of Ginseng on Pseudomonas aeruginosa motility and biofilm formation.
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DENMARK Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, DENMARK Department of International health, Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DENMARK ESCMID Study Group on Biofilms.
Abstract
Biofilm associated chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections in patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) are virtually impossible to eradicate with antibiotics because biofilm growing bacteria are highly tolerant to antibiotics and host defence mechanisms. Previously we found that Ginseng treatments protected animal models from development of chronic lung infection by P. aeruginosa. In the present study, the effects of Ginseng on the formation of P. aeruginosa biofilms were further investigated in vitro and in vivo. Ginseng aqueous-extract at concentrations of 0.5-2.0% did not inhibit growth of P. aeruginosa, but significantly prevented P. aeruginosa from forming biofilm. Exposure to 0.5% Ginseng aqueous-extract for 24 h destroyed most of 7-day-old mature biofilms formed by both mucoid and non-mucoid P. aeruginosa strains. Ginseng treatment enhanced swimming and twitching motility, but reduced swarming of P. aeruginosa at concentrations as low as 0.25%. Oral administration of ginseng extracts in mice promoted phagocytosis of P. aeruginosa PAO1 by airway phagocytes, but did not affect phagocytosis of a PAO1-filM mutant. Our study suggests that Ginseng treatment may help to eradicate the biofilm associated chronic infections caused by P. aeruginosa.
© 2011 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.PMID: 21303421 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]