INHIBITION OF SWARMING AND BIOFILM FORMATION BY PROTEUS MIRABILIS IN THE PRESENCE OF COMPOUNDS ISOLATED FROM EICHHORNIA CRASSIPES
Sujata Agrawal, Sunita Bundale*, Nandita Nashikkar, Deovrat Begde, Avinash Upadhyay
ABSTRACT
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an invasive aquatic weed known to out-compete native plants. In this
study, organic extracts of the floating plant parts were evaluated for their antibacterial and anti quorum sensing
(QS) activity. However, the organic and aqueous extracts were found to possess no antibacterial activity against
gram positive (Bacillius subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis) and gram negative (Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis)
bacteria. The acetone extract of E. crassipes was found to exhibit anti QS activity, using P.mirabilis as the
biosensor organism. Purification of the acetone extract by preparative thin layer chromatography (TLC) yielded
two bioactive fractions, C and E. On comparison of the Rf and λmax values of the potent fractions with published
data of E. crassipes compounds purified under identical conditions, fractions C and E have been preliminarily
identified as undecanoic acid and phenyl propanoid respectively. Two of the QS regulated virulence factors, viz,
swarming and biofilm formation by P. mirabilis were significantly reduced in the presence of these fractions. This
suggests that E. crassipes extracts contain compound(s) that could be used as anti-pathogenic agents.
Keywords: Eichhornia crassipes, anti QS property, swarming, biofilm, TLC.
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