Antibiofilm activities of the floral extract of Clitoria ternatea against the biofilm of two nosocomial pathogens, namely Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Biofilm, being an aggregate of microbial cells play a pivotal role in the development of chronic diseases by making the conventional antibiotics ineffective in killing the pathogenetic microbes. Such incomplete bactericidal activities of antibiotics on the other hand, gives rise to antibiotic resistance. In order to find out some alternative therapeutic approaches the flowers of Clitoria ternatea, an ethnobotanical plant with several medicinal attributes were tested for its antibiofilm activities both by in vitro as well as by in silico analyses in detail. Floral extract of Clitoria ternatea containing various bioactive compounds were found to 85% and 82% biofilm produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus respectively, whereas it was only 25% after antibiotic treatment. FTIR analysis indicated significant alterations in the active residues in the spectral regions of lipids, polysaccharide, nucleic acids and proteins after phytoextract treatment. Remarkable eradication of biofilm bound sessile cells of both P. aeruginosa and S. aureus was brought about by the treatment of petal extracts, as evident from the scanning electron micrographs. Docking interactions between biofilm forming proteins of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa and the bioactive compounds of C. ternatea clearly indicate the antibiofilm efficacies of the bioactive compounds present in the floral extract of C. ternatea. Hence the floral extract can be used as an herbal and nontoxic source of prospective drug to combat biofilm mediated diseases without generating the risk of antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]