Background: The increment of resistant strains to commonly used antibiotics in clinical practices places in
evidence the urgent need to search for new compounds with antibacterial activity. The adaptations that Antarctic
microorganisms have developed, due to the extreme environment that they inhabit, promote them as a potential
new source of active compounds for the control of microorganisms causing infections associated with health
care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of an ethanol extract of the Antarctic bacterium
Janthinobacterium sp., strain SMN 33.6, against nosocomial multi-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.
Results: Inhibitory activity against human Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, with concentrations that varied
between 0.5 and 16 μg ml
-1, was demonstrated.
Conclusions: The ethanolic extract of
Janthinobacterium sp. SMN 33.6 possesses antibacterial activity against
a chromosomal AmpC beta-lactamase-producing strain of
Serratia marcescens
, an extended-spectrum
beta-lactamase-producing
Escherichia coli
and also against carbapenemase-producing strains of
Acinetobacter
baumannii
and
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
. This becomes a potential and interesting biotechnological tool for the
control of bacteria with multi-resistance to commonly used antibiotics.
