Clostridium: Pathogenic Roles, Industrial Uses and Medicinal Prospects of Natural Products as Ameliorative Agents against Pathogenic Species

The genus Clostridium is made up of species that cause disease to both human beings and animals, with zoonotic species/strains playing critical roles in disease dynamics. Clostridial organisms posses pathogenic, therapeutic and industrial uses. Pathogenic clostridia cause lethal or life threatening infections that must be treated, while the industrial clostridia produce bio-fuels, to serve as alternative energy sources in the face of very high global prices of conventional fuels. Genetic engineering is currently developing novel strains by replacing or altering the gene configuration of pathogenic strains (gene knockout/down) to convert them to solvenogenic and non pathogenic strains for industrial uses. Therapeutic clostridia serve as vehicles for treatment of diseases, especially solid tumors. Because of the global problem of antibiotic resistance, which is a survival strategy by microbial pathogens, some of the well known chemotherapeutic protocols have failed and there is the need to evolve new treatment approaches, using novel agents that have superior mechanisms of action, compared to conventional antibiotics that are becoming inconsequential because of resistance. It is believed that natural products may be effective alternatives to resolving this puzzle, since they are cheaper, readily available and possibly effective against clostridial species. In this review article, the authors discussed some of the life threatening and solvenogenic clostridia and listed some natural products that may possibly be employed as drug targets for ameliorating the problem of resistance in the future, if their active principles are thoroughly researched. It is concluded that medical and veterinary research should be re-jigged to evolve active principles from natural products that are not so easily surmounted by the surge in drug resistant strains.