Secondary Plant Metabolites: Mechanisms of Antibacterial Action and Perspectives of Application in Pharmacology

Antibiotic resistance is one of the world problems of the XXI century, resulting from the activation of adaptive mechanisms in the structures of bacterial cells. Secondary metabolites of plants are synthesized as byproducts of their metabolism. The release of secondary metabolites into the environment is associated with the activation of protective mechanisms in plant cells. In the course of the study of the literature data the following mechanisms of antibacterial action of secondary metabolites of plants were identified: mechanisms of damage to the cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria, violations of energy metabolism and metabolic processes, as well as DNA synthesis. The principles of the systems «metabolite-metabolite» and «metabolite-antibiotic» are generalized, which makes it possible to judge the possibility of potentiating the action of antibiotics by secondary metabolites of plants.