Antimicrobial Activities of Mangrove Species in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review

Antimicrobial resistance in Southeast Asia is a macro-level health dilemma that may cause substantial casualties annually. Fortunately, Southeast Asian mangroves are potent reservoirs of bioactive compounds with antimicrobial properties in correlation to their traditional usage. Hence, this study aimed to systematically review studies concerning antimicrobial activities of mangroves in Southeast Asia as well as provide a technological overview of its prospective use in pharmaceutical industry applications through patents. Through the PRISMA protocol, the search for peer-reviewed studies originated from Southeast Asia and published between 2010 to 2022 were conducted over databases such as CORE, Google Scholar, PubMed (MedLine), Science Direct, Semantic Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. Additionally, a patent search was also performed on the Espacenet Patent Search, Google Patents, National Institute of Industrial Property, and United States Patent and Trademark Office. The studies and patents were collated on Mendeley Reference Manager as well as tabulated and assessed on Microsoft Office Excel 2016. After the four-phase screening, 59 studies and one patent regarding antimicrobial activities of Southeast Asian mangroves passed the criteria for the systematic review. It was inferred that Southeast Asia constitutes potentially most species-diverse mangroves with highly varied antimicrobial properties and can form synergism with drugs. The existing studies and patents may provide enlightenment on the future path of studies and inventions which must be continually substantiated in animal and clinical experiments for prospective pharmaceutical industry use. In this way, mangroves can be conserved while antimicrobial resistance and anthropogenic activities can be lowered.