A review of plant-derived compounds and their potential for treating community-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been a global public health problem, especially in hospital settings, for more than fifty years. Within the last few decades, MRSA has undergone a shift in epidemiology, appearing more frequently in the community, and amongst people without traditional risk factors. Community-acquired (CA) MRSA strains contain a wide range of virulence factors and confer varying drug resistances. Infection with CA-MRSA can often lead to poor clinical outcomes, including death. Current treatments for severe infections are limited, and very few truly novel antibiotics are enrolled in late-phase clinical trials testing by the Food and Drug Administration. Vancomycin is currently the first choice of antibiotic for severe infections, however S. aureus strains with intermediate or full resistance to vancomycin have been reported since the early 2000's, thus the need for new antibiotics is urgent. This paper presents a literature review outlining the current body of knowledge regarding the use of plant-derived compounds and their activity against different strains of MRSA. Furthermore, the potential of these compounds for clinical use in treating MRSA infections will be assessed.