{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T14:06:07Z","timestamp":1788185167283,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,23]],"date-time":"2021-07-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Research Fund (KREF)","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The bulbs of Allium species are a known source of antibacterial phytochemicals. Anti-infective, efflux pump and biofilm inhibitory activities of bulb extracts of selected Ghanaian shallots Allium cepa var aggregatum were evaluated using the HT-SPOTi assay and other whole-cell phenotypic screening techniques to determine their possible mechanisms of action. Ethanol and aqueous extracts of white A. cepa inhibited the growth of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155 and Escherichia coli, respectively. The majority of the Allium extracts significantly (p &lt; 0.05) exhibited efflux pump inhibitory activity against all the acid-fast, Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains used. Hexane and chloroform extract of the pink A. cepa and the aqueous extract of the white A. cepa significantly inhibited M. smegmatis biofilm formation. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the inhibition was observed at 250 \u00b5g\/mL for the aqueous extract (~77.34%) and 125 \u00b5g\/mL for the hexane extract (~76.51%). The results suggest that Ghanaian shallots could potentially be useful when further developed to tackle antimicrobial resistance, particularly in tuberculosis (TB).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics10080902","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,23]],"date-time":"2021-07-23T10:31:44Z","timestamp":1627036304000},"page":"902","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Investigating Ghanaian Allium Species for Anti-Infective and Resistance-Reversal Natural Product Leads to Mitigate Multidrug-Resistance in Tuberculosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4287-856X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cynthia Amaning","family":"Danquah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), PMB, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Tetteh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), PMB, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Isaac Kingsley","family":"Amponsah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, KNUST, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abraham Yeboah","family":"Mensah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, KNUST, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7944-2255","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kwame Ohene","family":"Buabeng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, KNUST, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Simon","family":"Gibbons","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Norwich Research Park, School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1165-9295","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sanjib","family":"Bhakta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (WHO) (2014). Antimicrobial Resistance: Global Report on Surveillance 2014, World Health Organization."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Interagency Coordination Group (IACG) (2019). No Time to Wait: Infections from Drug-Resistant Securing the Future from Drug-Resistant Infections, Artforum International Magazine."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Bretagne, G., and O\u2019Neill, J. (2014). Antimicrobial Resistance: Tackling a Crisis for the Health and Wealth of Nations, Review on Antimicrobial Resistance."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1016\/S0966-842X(02)00010-0","article-title":"The structure and function of drug pumps: An update","volume":"11","author":"McKeegan","year":"2003","journal-title":"Trends Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1574-6976.2005.00002.x","article-title":"Role of mycobacterial efflux transporters in drug resistance: An unresolved question","volume":"30","author":"Rossi","year":"2006","journal-title":"FEMS Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.1016\/S0924-8579(03)00208-5","article-title":"Mycobacterial efflux pumps and chemotherapeutic implications","volume":"22","author":"Viveiros","year":"2003","journal-title":"Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"164","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2958.2008.06274.x","article-title":"Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis biofilms containing free mycolic acids and harbouring drug-tolerant bacteria","volume":"69","author":"Ojha","year":"2008","journal-title":"Mol. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"413","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bmcl.2013.12.059","article-title":"New natural products as new leads for antibacterial drug discovery","volume":"24","author":"Brown","year":"2014","journal-title":"Bioorganic Med. Chem. Lett."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"585","article-title":"Evaluation of three plant extracts against biofilm formation and expression of quorum sensing regulated virulence factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa","volume":"3","author":"Karbasizade","year":"2017","journal-title":"Pak. J. Pharm. Sci."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2990","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2018.02990","article-title":"Inhibiting bacterial drug efflux pumps via phyto-therapeutics to combat threatening antimicrobial resistance","volume":"9","author":"Shriram","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijmyco.2015.02.003","article-title":"Medicinal plants used to treat TB in Ghana","volume":"4","author":"Nguta","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Mycobacteriol."},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"e00723","article-title":"Anti-infective, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities of the bulb extracts of Crinum jagus (J. Thomps.) Dandy (Amaryllidaceae)","volume":"12","author":"Minkah","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. Afr."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1103","DOI":"10.1007\/s00203-017-1378-x","article-title":"Modulation of the multidrug efflux pump EmrD-3 from Vibrio cholerae by Allium sativum extract and the bioactive agent allyl sulfide plus synergistic enhancement of antimicrobial susceptibility by A. sativum extract","volume":"99","author":"Bruns","year":"2017","journal-title":"Arch. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1150","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-017-18948-w","article-title":"Analogues of Disulfides from Allium stipitatum demonstrate potent anti-tubercular activities through drug efflux pump and biofilm inhibition","volume":"8","author":"Danquah","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1247","DOI":"10.1093\/jac\/dkl460","article-title":"Bacterial efflux pump inhibitors from natural sources","volume":"59","author":"Stavri","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Antimicrob. Chemother."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1555","DOI":"10.2165\/11317030-000000000-00000","article-title":"Efflux-mediated drug resistance in bacteria: A n update","volume":"69","author":"Li","year":"2009","journal-title":"Drugs"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drup.2016.04.003","article-title":"Multidrug efflux pumps of Gram-positive bacteria","volume":"27","author":"Schindler","year":"2016","journal-title":"Drug Resist. Updates"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s13020-019-0232-2","article-title":"Developing natural products as potential anti-biofilm agents","volume":"14","author":"Lu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Chin. Med."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mohsenipour, Z. (2015). The effects of Allium sativum extracts on biofilm formation and activities of six pathogenic bacteria. Jundishapur J. Microbiol., 8.","DOI":"10.5812\/jjm.18971v2"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pellegrini, M.C., and Ponce, A.G. (2019). Beet (Beta vulgaris) and Leek (Allium porrum) Leaves as a Source of Bioactive Compounds with Anti-quorum Sensing and Anti-biofilm Activity. Waste Biomass Valorization, 1\u20139.","DOI":"10.1007\/s12649-019-00775-x"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"935","DOI":"10.1590\/S1516-89132015060309","article-title":"Antibiofilm, antioxidant, antimutagenic activities and phenolic compounds of Allium orientale BOISS","volume":"58","author":"Ceylan","year":"2015","journal-title":"Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Karunanidhi, A., Ghaznavi-Rad, E., Hamat, R.A., Pichika, M.R., Lung, L.T.T., Mohd Fauzi, F., Chigurupati, S., van Belkum, A., and Neela, V. (2018). Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activities of Nonpolar Extracts of Allium stipitatum Regel. against Multidrug Resistant Bacteria. Biomed. Res. Int.","DOI":"10.1155\/2018\/9845075"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7376","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.01310-08","article-title":"Inactivation of efflux pumps abolishes bacterial biofilm formation","volume":"74","author":"Kvist","year":"2008","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Szumowski, J.D., Adams, K.N., Edelstein, P.H., and Ramakrishnan, L. (2012). Antimicrobial efflux pumps and Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug tolerance: Evolutionary considerations. Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol., 81\u2013108.","DOI":"10.1007\/82_2012_300"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Richards, J.P., and Ojha, A.K. (2014). Mycobacterial Biofilms. Microbiol. Spectr.","DOI":"10.1128\/microbiolspec.MGM2-0004-2013"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Danquah, C.A., Maitra, A., Gibbons, S., Faull, J., and Bhakta, S. (2016). HT-SPOTi: A rapid drug susceptibility test (DST) to evaluate antibiotic resistance profiles and novel chemicals for anti-infective drug discovery. Curr. Protoc. Microbiol.","DOI":"10.1002\/9780471729259.mc1708s40"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rodrigues, L., Wagner, D., Viveiros, M., Sampaio, D., Couto, I., Vavra, M., Kern, W.V., and Amaral, L. (2008). Thioridazine and chlorpromazine inhibition of ethidium bromide efflux in Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium smegmatis. J. Antimicrob. Chemother., 61.","DOI":"10.1093\/jac\/dkn070"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"345","DOI":"10.1093\/jac\/dkn178","article-title":"Plant phenolic compounds as ethidium bromide efflux inhibitors in Mycobacterium smegmatis","volume":"62","author":"Lechner","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Antimicrob. Chemother."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"378","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bioorg.2018.10.062","article-title":"Resistance modulatory and efflux-inhibitory activities of capsaicinoids and capsinoids","volume":"82","author":"Prasch","year":"2019","journal-title":"Bioorganic Chem."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Machado, D., Couto, I., Perdig\u00e3o, J., Rodrigues, L., Portugal, I., Baptista, P., Veigas, B., Amaral, L., and Viveiros, M. (2012). Contribution of efflux to the emergence of isoniazid and multidrug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. PLoS ONE, 7.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0034538"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"996","DOI":"10.1128\/jcm.22.6.996-1006.1985","article-title":"Adherence of coagulase-negative staphylococci to plastic tissue culture plates: A quantitative model for the adherence of staphylococci to medical devices","volume":"22","author":"Christensen","year":"1985","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"O\u2019Toole, G.A. (2011). Microtiter dish Biofilm formation assay. J. Vis. Exp.","DOI":"10.3791\/2437-v"},{"key":"ref_33","first-page":"801","article-title":"Detection of Mycobacterium Smegmatis Biofilm and its Control by Natural Agents","volume":"3","author":"Abidi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. Appl. Sci."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13A.8","DOI":"10.1002\/0471141755.ph13a08s50","article-title":"Static biofilm cultures of Gram-positive pathogens grown in a microtiter format used for anti-biofilm drug discovery","volume":"50","author":"Kwasny","year":"2010","journal-title":"Curr. Protoc. Pharmacol."}],"container-title":["Antibiotics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-6382\/10\/8\/902\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T06:34:03Z","timestamp":1760164443000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-6382\/10\/8\/902"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,23]]},"references-count":34,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,8]]}},"alternative-id":["antibiotics10080902"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/antibiotics10080902","relation":{},"ISSN":["2079-6382"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2079-6382","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,23]]}}}