Staphylococcus aureus major cell division protein FtsZ assembly is inhibited by silibinin, a natural flavonolignan that also blocked bacterial growth and biofilm formation.

The bacterial cell division protein FtsZ has been considered a potential therapeutic target due to its rapid treadmilling that induces cellular wall construction in bacteria. The current study discovered a novel antimicrobial compound, silibinin, a natural flavonolignan and its impact on the recombinant S. aureus FtsZ (SaFtsZ).