Therapeutic Potential of Alkaloids as Anti-Bacterial Agents: Drugs of Future

Abstract

Bacterial infections remain a major threat to the world community in terms of both morbidity and mortality. Indeed, bacterial infections are accountable for millions of fatalities around the globe. Additionally, these bacterial infections represent a notable burden, in particular, for children living in less-developed regions of the world. There are a numbers of classes of antibiotics for the treatment of these complicated and uncomplicated infections. But most of them are struggling with the current challenge of resistance. Obviously, resistance to current antibiotic is a global issue as greatly caused therapeutic outcome and patient compliance. The current researchers are looking towards natural product specially plant-based product for effective and long term solutions. In this regard, alkaloids represent a very important therapeutic class of natural products with clinical significance. The review describes the antibacterial profile of plant based alkaloids. Alkaloid acts as an emerging therapy for bacterial infections by inhibiting a broad range of gram positive and gram negative bacteria that were mostly resistant to current therapies. It was concluded that these alkaloids could be useful and effective therapeutic alternative to existing therapies that are extensively facing challenges of resistance. The current need is to focus on the clinical and safety aspects of these reported preclinical studies. Thus, it could be expected that plant alkaloids will be the popular drugs of future.