Summary: | Antipathogenic compounds that target the virulence of pathogenic bacteria rather than their viability offer a promising alternative approach to treat infectious diseases. Using extracts from 30 Chinese herbs that are known for treating symptoms resembling infections, we identified an active compound falcarindiol from <i>Notopterygium incisum</i> Ting ex H. T. Chang that showed potent inhibitory activities against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> multiple virulence factors. Falcarindiol significantly repressed virulence-related genes, including the type III secretion system (T3SS); quorum sensing synthase genes <i>lasIR</i> and <i>rhlIR</i>; <i>lasB</i>; motility-related genes <i>fliC</i> and <i>fliG</i>; and phenazine synthesis genes <i>phzA1</i> and <i>phzA2. P. aeruginosa</i> swarming motility and pyocyanin production were reduced significantly. In a burned mouse model, falcarindiol treatment significantly reduced the mortality in mice infected with <i>P. aeruginosa,</i> indicating that falcarindiol is a promising antipathogenic drug candidate for treating <i>P. aeruginosa</i> infections.
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