# Elevated Antibacterial Activity of a Polygalacturonic + Caprylic Acids Wound Ointment Compared with Hypochlorous Acid in a Three-Dimensional Wound Biofilm Model

## TL;DR

A new plant-based wound ointment is more effective than hypochlorous acid at killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wound biofilms.

## Contribution

A novel combination of polygalacturonic and caprylic acids shows superior antibacterial activity against wound biofilms compared to hypochlorous acid.

## Key findings

- PG + CAP significantly reduced viable organisms compared to HOCl against MRSA, MDR P. aeruginosa, and other resistant bacteria.
- The combination was highly effective against biofilms of all tested resistant bacterial isolates.
- PG + CAP is a promising alternative for treating chronic wounds contaminated with bacterial biofilms.

## Abstract

Bacterial biofilms play a major role in delayed wound-healing and in the development of chronic, non-healing wounds. Natural, plant-based agents, which can eradicate bacterial biofilms, are alternatives to antibiotics and antiseptics in the treatment of bacterially contaminated wounds. Bacterial wound biofilms are three-dimensional and complex microbial communities. Therefore, in this study, we used a three-dimensional fibrin-gel wound biofilm (FGWB) model to compare a commonly used natural agent in wound care, hypochlorous acid (HOCl), to a combination of two natural plant-based agents, polygalacturonic acid (PG) and caprylic acid (CAP) (PG + CAP), for their abilities to eradicate resistant bacterial biofilms of common wound pathogens methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), multi-drug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa, metallo β-Lactamase Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus pyogenes. PG + CAP produced a significantly greater reduction in viable organisms when compared to HOCL (p ≤ 0.05) against all tested bacterial isolates. PG + CAP was highly effective against biofilms of all resistant bacterial isolates and is a promising option that merits further study for treating chronic wounds contaminated with bacterial biofilms.