The escalating bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents represents a critical global issue demanding immediate attention [13]. E. coli has emerged as a prominent contributor to antimicrobial resistance, with MDR strains becoming increasingly prevalent [14]... This is particularly worrying given the current paucity of new compounds active against MDR-GNB [15]. Traditional herbal medicine has a long-standing history of human utilization in China, where it is documented and extensively covered in dedicated monographs within the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. There is accumulating evidence demonstrating the antimicrobial properties of a growing number of herbs including garlic, Tsaoko-Fructus, black cumin, cloves, cinnamon, thyme, allspice, bay leaves, mustard, and so on [16]. This has prompted an interest in herbal therapy for the treatment of bacterial infections disease. The herbs and their associated bioactive ingredients that can potentially enhance the effects of current antibiotics [17]. The extensive history of their application attests to their high clinical safety, making the screening of potential antibiotic alternatives from them a potentially shorter development process compared to developing a novel antibiotic [18]. Geraniol is a terpenoid compound present in a variety of Chinese herbal medicines. It has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and other pharmacological activities, and most of these have been tested in vitro [12, 19–21]. However, its medicinal mechanism is unclear. This study demonstrates the inhibitory activity of geraniol against MDR E. coli, along with its ability to delay entry into the logarithmic growth phase and reduce biomass.
Iron serves as an indispensable micronutrient for bacteria, participating in a multitude of vital biological pathways, including DNA synthesis and energy metabolism. Furthermore, it plays a pivotal role in determining bacterial virulence [22]. In the host, iron usually binds tightly with biomolecules like heme, causing an iron-depleted environment in vivo, in which bacteria have to adapt to by employing a series of iron acquisition mechanisms [23]. One of the strategies is siderophore, which has a high affinity for iron ions that can capture iron from the host’s protein iron complexes. Another way for uptake of iron relies on direct contact between the pathogen and the iron source [24–26]. In the preliminary investigation, a downregulation of iron metabolism-related pathways was observed through transcriptomic analysis. Therefore, the expression levels of relevant genes in Escherichia coli were initially validated following co-cultivation with geraniol. Subsequent analyses confirmed a reduction in intracellular iron content. In numerous investigations, we have observed a consistent phenomenon wherein the inhibition of bacterial growth is achieved through the suppression of iron ion metabolism in various pathogens, such as Vibrio cholerae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae [27, 28]. Various regulatory systems play crucial roles in iron metabolism. The global regulatory protein CsrA has been implicated in the uptake and storage of iron in E. coli, underscoring its significant role in modulating iron homeostasis [29]. Meanwhile, YdiV exerts a pivotal role in the iron uptake pathway of Escherichia coli by manipulating the DNA binding ability of Fur via a SlyD-dependent mechanism. Hence, YdiV is critical for regulating iron acquisition in this microorganism [10]. The downregulation of ydiv indicates that geraniol suppresses the iron metabolism pathway in E. coli. Simultaneously, other iron metabolism genes (fepA, fecB, fhuF, ompW) associated with the regulatory factor ydiv exhibit a downregulation trend. Collectively, these investigations have underscored the critical role of iron ion concentration in bacterial growth, thus highlighting the potential of regulating iron metabolism as a novel target for antibacterial drug development. According to the results, it is speculated that geraniol can bind to YdiV, causing abnormal iron ion metabolism of bacteria and reducing the concentration of intracellular iron ions.
As a component of the host's innate immune system, macrophages play a crucial role in bacterial infections by phagocytizing and eliminating invading pathogens [30]. Studies have demonstrated that the natural compound resveratrol exerts anti-inflammatory effects by modulating anti-inflammatory cytokines and immune responses [31]. Meanwhile, geraniol exhibits the ability to reduce inflammatory cytokines and attenuate tissue infiltration of neutrophils in mice infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) [7]. Citral, which is also a vital constituent of traditional herbal volatile essential oils, exhibits notable anti-MRSA activity in vivo, possibly by attenuating inflammatory responses and combating oxidative stress to confer protective effects on the host organism [32]. The ability of eugenol to geraniol the phagocytic capacity and complement-mediated killing activity of neutrophils may parallel the mechanism by which certain natural compounds augment immune function and exert anti-inflammatory effects. It is speculated that geraniol may also enhance the host immunity, which requires verification through further in vivo experiments.
This study provides a comprehensive understanding of geraniol, which will be beneficial for exploring the mechanism and potential medicinal applications of it, as well as developing a rational quality control system for geraniol as a medicinal material in the future. Meanwhile we will provide high-quality evidence to help patients, clinicians as well as health policymakers select better treatment strategy of bacterial infection disease.