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Antibacterial evaluation of flavonoid compounds against E. coli by microcalorimetry and chemometrics

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Abstract

Fighting against multidrug-resistant bacteria requires reliable methods to evaluate the effect of antibacterial agents. As a universal, non-destructive, and highly sensitive tool, microcalorimetry has been used in many biological investigations to provide continuous real-time monitoring of the metabolic activity. This method, based on heat-flow output, was used to evaluate the influence of two flavonoid compounds (liquiritigenin and liquiritin) on Escherichia coli. Some crucial information, such as the thermogenic power-time curve and thermokinetic parameters of E. coli growth affected by the two compounds, was obtained and further studied by chemometric techniques including similarity analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and principal component analysis. By comparing the values of two main parameters, k 2 (growth rate constant of the second exponential phase) and Q 1 (heat output of the first exponential growth phase) of E. coli based on the box and whisker plot, liquiritigenin and liquiritin could be differentiated according to their antibacterial effects; liquiritin with IC50 (half-inhibitory concentration) of 198.6 μg mL−1 expressed a stronger antibacterial effect than liquiritigenin with IC50 of 337.8 μg mL−1. The glucoside group in liquiritin containing four additional free hydroxyls in the diphenylpropane skeleton was crucial for inducing the antibacterial effect. Liquiritin might be a promising candidate against E. coli. This study provides a valuable method for searching for novel antibacterial agents using microcalorimetry with chemometrics.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the support from the National Science Foundation of China (81473346, 81274072) and Xihe New Star Project.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, China

    Weijun Kong, Xiaoyan Xing & Meihua Yang

  2. China Military Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, 302 Military Hospital of China, Beijing, 100039, China

    Yanling Zhao, Xiaojiao Sun & Xiaohe Xiao

  3. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Air Force General Hospital, PLA, Beijing, 100142, China

    Xinping Ma

Authors
  1. Weijun Kong
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  2. Yanling Zhao
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  3. Xiaoyan Xing
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  4. Xinping Ma
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  5. Xiaojiao Sun
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  6. Meihua Yang
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  7. Xiaohe Xiao
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Meihua Yang or Xiaohe Xiao.

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Kong, W., Zhao, Y., Xing, X. et al. Antibacterial evaluation of flavonoid compounds against E. coli by microcalorimetry and chemometrics. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99, 6049–6058 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6711-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6711-1

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