Sprouts as functional food- an approach towards the identification of natural antibiotic resistance breakers
Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to the use of these medicines. Investigation studies related to discovery of novel antibiotics to deal with antibacterial resistance from natural edible food products have been one of the significant research interests in recent years. The main objective of the study is to identify the bioactive compounds having the natural antibiotic resistance breaking property, by giving scientific validation to the existing bioactive compounds present in the sprouts and recommending the horse gram and mixed sprouts as a natural dietary supplement, a measure for the management of the disease, Shigellosis. Qualitative screening of the phytoconstituents (using different solvent extracts) and quantitative analysis of the primary and secondary phytoconstituents were carried out in methanol and aqueous extracts of the horse gram and mixed sprouts (fresh and dried) using standard protocols in two different samples- horse gram sprouts (Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc.) and mixed sprouts of combination (Cicer arietinum L. (Chick pea), Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc. (horse gram) and Vigna radiata (L.). Antibacterial activity of both the samples against human pathogens namely Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Shigella flexneri were studied. In horse gram and mixed sprouts, maximum zone of inhibitions were shown by Shigella flexneri, a food and water borne pathogen leading to outbreaks of Shigellosis, a major public health concern. Ciprofloxacin is a broad spectrum of antimicrobial carboxyfluoroquinolones. The bactericidal action of Ciprofloxacin is by inhibiting DNA gyrase, a type II topoisomerase and topoisomerase IV, which are required for bacterial DNA replication. Phytochemical characterization (FTIR and GC-MS) and antibacterial studies proved the presence of essential phytoconstituents like terpenoids, fatty acids, proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins. Several bioactive compounds obtained from GC-MS analysis were screened for Ciprofloxacin antibiotic resistance. The specific phytoconstituents, DL-Proline from horse gram sprouts and Geranyl geraniol from mixed sprouts was tend to act as novel antibiotic resistance breakers which was proved through in silico docking.