title: Piper nigrum, Piper betle and Gnetum gnemon--natural food sources with anti-quorum sensing properties.
abstract: Various parts of Piper nigrum, Piper betle and Gnetum gnemon are used as food sources by Malaysians. The purpose of this study is to examine the anti-quorum sensing (anti-QS) properties of P. nigrum, P. betle and G. gnemon extracts. The hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts of these plants were assessed in bioassays involving Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01, Escherichia coli [pSB401], E. coli [pSB1075] and Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. It was found that the extracts of these three plants have anti-QS ability. Interestingly, the hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts from P. betle showed the most potent anti-QS activity as judged by the bioassays. Since there is a variety of plants that serve as food sources in Malaysia that have yet to be tested for anti-QS activity, future work should focus on identification of these plants and isolation of the anti-QS compounds.
authors.affiliation: Division of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia. etaly87@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Li Ying
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Wai-Fong
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Kok-Gan
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D002861:Chromobacterium / Q000187:drug effects; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D035684:Gnetum / Q000737:chemistry; D008296:Malaysia; D031721:Piper betle / Q000737:chemistry; D029222:Piper nigrum / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts