Role of biofilms in the development and persistence of ENT infections and ways to disrupt biofilms

The improvement of treatment efficacy for any disorder, including infectious diseases, is one of the most important tasks for current medicine. One of possible ways to achieve it is to find some therapeutic agents that can affect microbial biofilms, since they have been shown to play an important role in the development of 80% of diseases, including chronic ones. So far, there have been no optimal methods of destroying biofilms. In this article, we discuss non-antibiotic treatments with antibiofilm activity in the upper respiratory tract mucosa. Essential oils (EOs) and their complexes are a promising treatment for patients with infectious diseases. They have been used in dental and gynecological practice, treatment of infections of the urinary and upper respiratory tracts (rhinitis, sinusitis, nasopharyngitis) and demonstrated their effectiveness. The antibacterial activity of EOs from plants depends on the complexity of the composition of a specific EO complex and the type of microorganism. We provide the evidence of the efficacy of the EO complex "Maslo Dyshi" (Akvion, Russia), whose antibiofilm activity was demonstrated by Russian scientists on the model with mycobacterial (MBT) biofilms and compared with EOs used alone (eucalyptus, pine, bergamot). The authors proved complete suppression of various biofilm states in all studied MBT strains exposed to vapors of the EO complex "Maslo Dyshi" (high antibacterial and antibiofilm activity), probably associated with the synergistic effect of EOs included in the complex. The bactericidal activity of a similar EO composition was evaluated in a German study, which demonstrated that mint and cajuput oils had the highest activity. This study also ranked activity of all EOs included in a complex similar in its composition to "Maslo Dyshi" and emphasized its association with the exposure time and concentration, since EOs evaporate over time. We discuss the results of studies that demonstrated virucidal activity of "Maslo Dyshi" against influenza virus, rhinovirus, adenovirus, and respiratory syncytial, as well as its clinical activity. All authors reported decreased frequency and duration/number of complications of viral infections, including that in children with frequent respiratory infections. New data on the antibiofilm activity of this EO complex opens new horizons for its use in outpatient clinical practice. Key words: biofilm, children with frequent respiratory infections, acute respiratory infections