3. Driving forces and tendencies in Taraxacum antimicrobial research

Between 2000 and 2010, approximately 40 new drugs originating from terrestrial plants, terrestrial microorganisms, marine organisms, and terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates against different bacteria, fungi, and viruses were launched on the market [90]. This follows distinct research tendencies. Studies related to antimicrobial and antifungal properties generally aim, in developing and developed countries, to respond to the necessity of finding new drugs or products based on traditional medicine at a low cost, confirming already established activity originating from oral tradition. The driving force behind studying new antimicrobial alternatives is the necessity of finding new drugs or natural products that act against diseases due to the increased drug resistance in the latter. Furthermore, the toxicity of synthetic compounds currently utilized in farming and agricultural industries has created a market for natural compounds that are safer, cheaper, and more effective against pathogens.

Modern phytochemistry, scientific equipment, and technology have had a significant impact on natural product chemistry, including isolation, extraction, purification, and structure determination. However, this discipline still demands that research investigators establish the clinical significance of natural compounds and recognize them as drugs or industrial products (pesticides, bactericides, pharmaceutical products, etc.) [91]. Bioactive compounds in botanical drugs are purportedly superior to monosubstances because of synergistic effects. Similarly, multidrug therapy is highly important against resistant microbial strains due to the enhanced efficacy, reduced toxicity, decreased adverse side effects, increased bioavailability, lowered dosage, and reduced evolution of antimicrobial resistance [92].

Even when antibiotics have been effective in treating infectious diseases, resistance to the action mechanisms has led to the emergence of new and the re-emergence of old infectious diseases. Several plant extracts exhibit synergistic activity against microorganisms, with natural products (including flavonoids and essential oils) and synthetic drugs effectively combating bacterial, fungal, and mycobacterial infections. The mode of action of combinations differs significantly from the individual use of the same drugs; hence, isolating a single component may not highlight its importance, simplifying the task of the pharmacological industries [93].
