Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25879877›Full record

ArticleBMC complementary and alternative medicine2015

Phylogenetic spectrum and analysis of antibacterial activities of leaf extracts from plants of the genus Rhododendron.

Ahmed Rezk, Jennifer Nolzen, Hartwig Schepker, Dirk C Albach, Klaudia Brix, Matthias S Ullrich

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Investigation of insecticidal activity of twoJournal of plant diseases and protection : scientific journal of the German Phytomedical Society (DPG) · 2023
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  6. Bioactivity inFrontiers in plant science · 2017
    Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ahmed RezkMolecular Life Science Research Center, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, Bremen, 28759, Germany. ah.rezk@jacobs-university.de.
Jennifer NolzenInstitute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Strasse 9-11, Oldenburg, 26111, Germany. jennifer.nolzen@uni-oldenburg.de.
Hartwig SchepkerStiftung Bremer Rhododendronpark, Deliusweg 40, Bremen, 28359, Germany. Schepker@rhododendronpark-bremen.de.
Dirk C AlbachInstitute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Strasse 9-11, Oldenburg, 26111, Germany. dirk.albach@uni-oldenburg.de.
Klaudia BrixMolecular Life Science Research Center, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, Bremen, 28759, Germany. k.brix@jacobs-university.de.
Matthias S UllrichMolecular Life Science Research Center, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, Bremen, 28759, Germany. m.ullrich@jacobs-university.de.
Constructor University · DECarl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPlants are traditionally used for medicinal treatment of numerous human disorders including infectious diseases caused by microorganisms. Due to the increasing resistance of many pathogens to commonly used antimicrobial agents, there is an urgent need for novel antimicrobial compounds. Plants of the genus Rhododendron belong to the woody representatives of the family Ericaceae, which are typically used in a range of ethno-medical applications. There are more than one thousand Rhododendron species worldwide. The Rhododendron-Park Bremen grows plants representing approximately 600 of the known Rhododendron species, and thus enables research involving almost two thirds of all known Rhododendron species.

methodsTwenty-six bacterial species representing different taxonomic clades have been used to study the antimicrobial potential of Rhododendron leaf extracts. Agar diffusion assay were conducted using 80% methanol crude extracts derived from 120 Rhododendron species. Data were analyzed using principal component analysis and the plant-borne antibacterial activities grouped according the first and second principal components.

resultsThe leaf extracts of 17 Rhododendron species exhibited significant growth-inhibiting activities against Gram-positive bacteria. In contrast, only very few of the leaf extracts affected the growth of Gram-negative bacteria. All leaf extracts with antimicrobial bioactivity were extracted from representatives of the subgenus Rhododendron, with 15 from the sub-section Rhododendron and two belonging to the section Pogonanthum. The use of bacterial multidrug efflux pump mutants revealed remarkable differences in the susceptibility towards Rhododendron leaf extract treatment.

conclusionsFor the first time, our comprehensive study demonstrated that compounds with antimicrobial activities accumulate in the leaves of certain Rhododendron species, which mainly belong to a particular subgenus. The results suggested that common genetic traits are responsible for the production of bioactive secondary metabolite(s) which act primarily on Gram-positive organisms, and which may affect Gram-negative bacteria in dependence of the activity of multidrug efflux pumps in their cell envelope.

Indexed as

PhylogenyRhododendronAnti-Bacterial AgentsGram-Negative BacteriaGram-Positive BacteriaHumansMicrobial Sensitivity TestsPlant ExtractsPlant LeavesSpecies SpecificityAnti-Bacterial AgentsPlant Extracts

Identifiers

PMID25879877
PMCPMC4367927
OpenAlexW2063771386

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.