Evaluation of antibiofilm activity of some cistus SPPS on pathogenic microorganisms

Our country is home to many plant gene resources with its geopolitical location at the intersection of three different geographical regions. Medicinal and aromatic plants have been used for nutritional and cosmetic purposes from the beginning of our history, as well as for traditional treatment against diseases. Antibiotics are used in the treatment of infectious diseases, but unconscious and excessive use of antibiotics causes antibiotic resistance in microorganisms. Antibiotic resistance has become an important problem all over the world, scientists have constantly had to explore new alternatives. The ability of bacteria to form biofilms in their resistance to antibiotics makes the treatment of infectious diseases more difficult. In addition, due to the high side effects of synthetic drugs, the interest in medicinal and aromatic plants is increasing in order to search and develop new pharmaceutical raw materials. For this reason, it has become very important to investigate the antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects of medicinal and aromatic plants, which contain many bioactive components, and to discover alternative antimicrobial substances. In this study, the antibiofilm effect of some medically important Cistus spp. on biofilm-forming pathogenic bacteria was investigated for the first time. According to the results of the research, it was observed that the water extracts of Cistus salviifolius, Cistus creticus, and Cistus laurifolius plants, in different concentrations, showed different amounts of antibiofilm effects against the biofilm-forming test microorganisms included in the study. For this reason, it was thought that the plants used could be a potential candidate for the discovery of new drugs for therapeutic purposes. In addition, it has been seen that more research is required to isolate antimicrobial compounds and to determine the mechanism of activity.