Natural products for the treatment of chlamydiaceae infections

Mika A. Brown, Michael G. Potroz, Seoh Wei Teh, Nam Joon Cho*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Due to the global prevalence of Chlamydiae, exploring studies of diverse antichlamydial compounds is important in the development of effective treatment strategies and global infectious disease management. Chlamydiaceae is the most widely known bacterial family of the Chlamydiae order. Among the species in the family Chlamydiaceae, Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae cause common human diseases, while Chlamydia abortus, Chlamydia psittaci, and Chlamydia suis represent zoonotic threats or are endemic in human food sources. Although chlamydial infections are currently manageable in human populations, chlamydial infections in livestock are endemic and there is significant difficulty achieving effective treatment. To combat the spread of Chlamydiaceae in humans and other hosts, improved methods for treatment and prevention of infection are needed. There exist various studies exploring the potential of natural products for developing new antichlamydial treatment modalities. Polyphenolic compounds can inhibit chlamydial growth by membrane disruption, reestablishment of host cell apoptosis, or improving host immune system detection. Fatty acids, monoglycerides, and lipids can disrupt the cell membranes of infective chlamydial elementary bodies (EBs). Peptides can disrupt the cell membranes of chlamydial EBs, and transferrins can inhibit chlamydial EBs from attachment to and permeation through the membranes of host cells. Cellular metabolites and probiotic bacteria can inhibit chlamydial infection by modulating host immune responses and directly inhibiting chlamydial growth. Finally, early stage clinical trials indicate that polyherbal formulations can be effective in treating chlamydial infections. Herein, we review an important body of literature in the field of antichlamydial research.

Original languageEnglish
Article number39
JournalMicroorganisms
Volume4
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2016
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Microbiology
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Virology

Keywords

  • Antibacterial
  • Chlamydia
  • Chlamydiaceae
  • Chlamydiae
  • Chlamydial infections
  • Natural products

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