# Recent Advances in the Antibacterial Activities of _Citrullus_ _Ianatus_ (Watermelon) By-Products
## 2 Antibacterial Activities  
Polyphenols are abundant in plant extracts and are frequently acknowledged as antioxidants, but they can also be classified as antimicrobials. These compounds demonstrate inhibitory properties against both bacteria responsible for food spoilage and pathogens that might cause food-borne illnesses [16]. In recent years, there has been a shift among the scientific community towards the utilization of this kind of antibacterial compound. The excessive use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of bacteria that are resistant to multiple drugs, necessitating the development of more potent or intricate antibiotic compositions to effectively combat them [17; 18]. The notion of distinguishing between bactericidal and bacteriatic medicines has proven to be effective in differentiating antibiotics that have the ability to kill bacteria, known as bactericidal, from antibiotics that just suppress bacterial growth, referred to as bacteriatic. The principle that distinguishes the two types of antibiotics is that bactericidal medications possess a greater capacity for antibacterial activity, enabling them to effectively eradicate bacteria. Another way to fight bacteria is by damaging their biofilm. Biofilm is a term used to describe clusters of microbial cells that are enveloped by bacterial extracellular polymers. The process of biofilm creation encompasses three key stages: bacterial adhesion, biofilm development, and maturity. Additionally, the process of biofilm formation has the potential to enhance the resistance of bacteria against drugs and mechanical damage [19; 20]. Biofilms consist of a diverse array of polymers, including alginate, exopolysaccharide, and proteins. In contrast to planktonic growth, biofilms have been found to enhance the resilience of the host immune system against antibiotics and provide a significant challenge to clinical therapy [21]. There are several antibacterial mechanisms, such as inhibition of cell proliferation, inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis, inhibition of energy metabolism, attenuation of pathogenicity, reduction in biofilm formation and cell adhesion, and damage to membranes possibly by producing hydrogen peroxide [22]. The process of suppressing cell proliferation involves the inhibition or destruction of a critical cellular organ, resulting in the suppression of cell proliferation. This inhibition can be achieved through many mechanisms. Several methods of action can be employed to achieve desired effects, including the inhibition or destruction of enzymes and proteins [23; 24; 25], tissue-specific inhibition [26], the cell autophagy signaling pathway [27], the utilization of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) [28], as well as the application of extracts or drugs that impede certain cellular functions [29; 30; 31]. More specifically, [PERSON] et al. [24] proved in their study that the _Orosylum indicium_ extracts inhibit the growth of MCF-7 cells. In another study, [PERSON] et al. [28] discovered that the liver-specific lcRNA FAM99B was downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues relative to adjacent normal tissues. There are additional antibacterial assays that function by blocking the production of nucleic acids, specifically DNA and RNA [32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38]. Consequently, these agents disrupt regular cellular processes as well as their proliferation, ultimately resulting in cell death. Another effective way to fight bacteria is by inhibiting energy metabolism [39; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46]. A Metabolic Inhibitor diminishes enzymatic activity by typically forming a relatively weak interaction with the enzyme. This pertains to competitive inhibitors. Enzymatic productivity can be diminished by impeding the entry of substrates into the active sites. The detection of bacterial pathogens from clinical samples in clinical microbiology is predominantly dependent on culture-based methods.