Bioactive compounds: Integrating nature’s weapon for combating the antimicrobial resistance

The rise of antibiotic resistance has motivated researchers to search for new antimicrobial agents. About 7.7 million deaths are associated with bacterial infections each year, of these 4.95 million are due to drug-resistant bacteria, and 1.27 million are caused by resistance to current antibiotics. Bioactive secondary metabolites have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and anti-cancer properties, with several modes of antibacterial action including inhibition of efflux pump, disruption of the cell wall, alteration of the permeability of membrane, inhibition of replication and translational machinery. In addition to natural plant products phyto-derived nanomaterials have emerged as a powerful tool against bacterial biofilms. These nanomaterials can penetrate biofilm barriers and target bacterial cells directly. This article explores the potent bioactive metabolites with their effective antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens and the advancement of nanotechnology for delivering phyto-based drugs combating anti-microbial resistance.