Bacterial biofilm can cause nosocomial recurrent infections and implanted device secondary infections in patients and strongly promotes development of pathogenic drug resistance in clinical treatments. Butenolide is an effective anti-macrofouling compound derived from a marine Streptomyces sp., but its antibiofilm efficacy remains largely unexplored. In the present study, the antibiofilm activities of butenolide were examined using biofilms formed by both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic model species. Four Escherichia coli strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were used as targets in antibiofilm assays that examined the effects of butenolide, including the following: (i) on bacterial growth; (ii) in inhibiting biofilm formation and eradicating mature biofilm; (iii) on biofilm structures. In addition, the synergistic effect between butenolide with tetracycline was also examined. Butenolide not only effectively inhibited the biofilm formation but also eradicated pre-formed biofilms of tested bacteria. Fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) indicated that butenolide was a potential tetracycline enhancer against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and MRSA. These results indicated that butenolide may hold a great potential as an effective antibiofilm agent to control and prevent biofilm-associated infections in future clinical treatments.
Keywords: Antibiofilm agent; Antibiotics enhancer; Butenolide; Drug discovery.