1.In vitro interaction of antimicrobial agents in combination with plant extract against multidrug-resistant bacterial strains
Muhammad Saqib Ishaq ; Abdur Razaq ; Muhammad Medrar Hussain ; Ghadir Ali ; Mahrukh Khattak ; Muhammad Amin
Malaysian Journal of Microbiology 2015;11(3):300-305
Aims: To evaluate the possible in vitro interaction between methanolic extract of root of Adiantumcapillus-veneris and
certain known antimicrobial drugs i.e. Oxacillin, Ceftazimide, Cefriaxone, Ofloxacin, Meropenem, Erythromycin,
Cefuroxime, Cefoxitin, Cefotaxime and Ampicillin.
Methodology and results: The study was carried out against ten bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, S.
epidermidis, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniea, Shigella dysentriea, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Providencia species, Citrobacter freundii and Escherichia coli isolated from urine, pus and blood samples. Both disc
diffusion and well diffusion methods were used to determine antimicrobial activity of plant extract in combination with
antibiotics. Antimicrobial sensitivity showed that Meropenem was the most effective antibiotic with zone of inhibition (ZI)
of 25-33 mm among all tested antibiotics followed by Ofloxacin (10-26.5 mm), Ceftriaxone (8-20 mm), while Oxacillin
showed no activity against almost all bacterial strains. The study showed that most bacterial strains were resistant to
most of the antibiotics used, ranging from 20-60%. The methanolic extract (mEXT) of A. capillus-veneris used alone was
active against most of the bacterial isolates with maximum activity against E. coli with 16 mm ZI. The study also
indicated that there was an increased activity in case of combination of mEXT with antibiotics. The combined effects of
plant extract with antibiotics were synergistic against most of the bacterial strains. The mEXT showed maximum
synergistic effect with Ceftazimide with ZI of 42 mm followed by Meropenem (40 mm) and Ceftriaxone (28 mm) against
multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains.
Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The data suggests that plant extract could be used as alternative to
antibiotics. These results give scientific backing that combination between plant extract and antibiotics would be useful in
fighting the emerging drug-resistant bacterial pathogens.
Anti-Infective Agents
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Plants, Medicinal