Studies demonstrated essential L. cardiaca L. extracts biological activity against both staphylococcal adhesion and blood platelet activation. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Better understanding the mechanisms ofL. extract (LCE) activity is necessary to prepare recommendations for the use of LCE-based herbal products for preventive/supportive purposes in case of infective endocarditis (IE) and other staphylococcal invasive infections. The aim of the study was to analyze molecular mechanisms of LCE effect onand blood platelets in the context of their interactions playing a pivotal role in such disorders. Using atomic force microscopy, we demonstrated that adhesion forces ofwere markedly reduced after exposure to LCE at subinhibitory concentrations. The effect resulted from the impact of LCE oncell morphology and the composition of phospholipids and fatty acids in bacterial membranes (assessed by HPLC), which modulated their stabilization, hydrophobicity, and charge. Moreover, using FACS we showed also that LCE significantly reduced GP IIb/IIIa expression on blood platelets, thus the disruption of platelet-fibrinogen interactions seems to explain antiplatelet effect of LCE. The obtained results prove the usefulness of LCE in the prevention ofadhesion, platelet activation, and vegetations development, however, also pointed out the necessity of excluding the cationic antibiotics from the treatment of-associated IE and other invasive diseases, when motherwort herb is used simultaneously as an addition to the daily diet.