Bioactives against Superbugs: using phytotherapy to counteract the drug- resistance burden in the 21 century

Penicillin and other antimicrobials discovery revolutionized medicine but, as a consequence of antibiotic misuse, several bacteria evolved to become resistant to multiple antibiotics classes: “the superbugs”. Following the stagnation on the conventional antibiotic-discovery field, scientific attention turned to alternative foundations for the development of novel antibacterial substances, namely natural bio-based compounds. Plants are a rich source of bioactive substances and among the different phytochemicals, terpenes are one of the largest class in nature. This class is structurally diverse and with well described biological potential, making it a strong candidate for discovery of new antimicrobials. Also contributing to the renewed interest in these compounds is the fact that novel techniques for their extraction have been developed. In this chapter a brief overview on multi-drug resistant bacteria will be given, being the main focus onto plant-derived bioactive compounds, in specific terpenes, as well as on their extraction and purification techniques.