Bioactive Phytocompounds to Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance

Antibiotics are the chemical substances secreted by microorganisms used for treating several types of other microbial diseases. However, a repeated as well as regular use of the antibiotics against particular microorganisms results in the antibiotic resistance. Bacteria, fungi, parasites, and even viruses possess such mechanisms of resistance. Until now, an admirable range of contemporary drugs are being derived from plant metabolites. Any single plant in fact represents a library of hundreds to thousands of architecturally and stereochemically complex chemicals, termed phytochemicals. Therefore, to inhibit antimicrobial resistant (AMR) microbes, plant products are recommended widely by the experts and users. Moreover, the membrane proteins that were accountable for antibiotic efflux can be effectively treated by plant-derived antimicrobials (PDAs). Also their use in combination with the existing commercial antibiotics exhibits superior antimicrobial activities, and hence is helpful in controlling the menace of AMR. This chapter discusses in detail about the consequences of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the development of more active PDAs.