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@article{207873,
        author = {Dhithi Mahendra Reddy and Shreosee Ghosh and Rupak Roy},
        title = {Medicinal Plant Phytochemicals for Combating Antimicrobial Resistance through Molecular and Computational Approaches},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {3},
        pages = {3326-3332},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=207873},
        abstract = {Antimicrobial resistance has narrowed the therapeutic options available for bacterial infections and has increased interest in antibacterial discovery from natural products. Medicinal plants contain chemically diverse compounds that can affect bacterial membranes, metabolic pathways, biofilms, virulence systems and, in some cases, antibiotic susceptibility. This review examines plant-derived phytochemicals as potential antibacterial agents and antibiotic adjuvants, with emphasis on evidence obtained against resistant bacteria. Alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, tannins, saponins and organosulfur compounds are considered, while particular attention is given to curcumin, berberine, quercetin, epigallocatechin gallate, thymol and carvacrol. Experimental evidence is discussed alongside molecular docking, molecular dynamics, ADMET prediction and emerging machine-learning approaches. The review also addresses an important limitation in the current literature: activity reported for a phytochemical in one bacterial strain cannot be assumed to translate to other species or to clinically useful exposure. For example, published studies have reported substantial strain-to-strain variation in curcumin susceptibility, while systematic evidence for thymol and carvacrol against Klebsiella pneumoniae shows measurable antibacterial and antibiofilm activity but also wide variation in MIC values. These observations support a more cautious development strategy based on standardized susceptibility testing, mechanism-specific assays, pharmacokinetic studies and testing in clinically relevant MDR isolates. Phytochemicals therefore remain promising sources of antibacterial scaffolds and adjuvants, but their therapeutic value depends on reproducible activity, selectivity and achievable exposure rather than natural origin alone.},
        keywords = {antimicrobial resistance; multidrug-resistant bacteria; medicinal plants; phytochemicals; antibacterial agents; antibiotic adjuvants; molecular docking; molecular dynamics; ADMET},
        month = {August},
        }