In silico Herbal Bioprospection targeting Multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The re-emerging drug resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa require novel drug development strategies. A 3-step matrix based herbal bioprospection approach was devised to identify potential herbal leads targeting process of spread of micro-organism in the host cell. 05 bioactivity parameters were selected on the basis of extensive literature surge relevant to confer multi-drug resistance among P. aeruginosa. Biofilm formation and Quorum sensing exhibited maximum relevance as physiological targets. The binary matrix score analysis of database of 38 plants identified using classical bioprospection filtered 10 herbal exhibited potential to mitigate ≥3 virulence factors. The weightage matrix score analysis excluded 05 herbals having score less than median weightage matrix score i.e., 12.66. The optimization of bioassociational data on a scale of 0-1 using fuzzy score matrix analysis led to the selection of Glycyrrhiza glabra (Gg), Terminalia chebula (Tc), Aloe barbadensis (Ab) and Mentha piperita (Mp) as potent herbal leads with μS > 0.5 (~median fuzzy score) and Zingiber officinale (Zo) selected as control lead molecule. These herbal leads will be subjected to in vitro analysis in future studies.