The Role of Plant-Derived Compounds in Amplifying Antibiotic Effectiveness
Subject Areas :
Elham Nikouie
1
,
Nadia Kazemipour
2
*
,
Farokh Rokhbakhsh-Zamin
3
1 - Department of Microbiology, Ke.C., Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
2 - Department of Microbiology, Ke.C., Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
3 - Department of Microbiology, Ke.C., Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
Keywords: Synergism, Medicinal plants, Antibiotics, Antimicrobial activity,
Abstract :
Today we are facing an increasing problem related to the antibiotic resistance due to the inappropriate and excessive using antimicrobial drugs. The World Health Organization has declared the antibiotic resistance crisis as one of the greatest threats to global health, and therefore, it is essential to employ effective new methods to combat life threatening infections. Accordingly, researchers are striving to find effective alternatives to address this problem. One promising approach is the use of herbal medicines with antimicrobial properties accompanying with conventional antibiotics. The potential synergistic effects of using antibiotics with medicinal plants can provide more effective treatment option for dangerous infectious disease caused specially by multidrug resistant bacteria. This research was conducted to draw a clear view about the synergism antibiotics and plants with acceptable effects against important human pathogenic bacteria. Using various herbal essential oils in combination with antibiotics were investigated recently on certain bacteria and it revealed that the synergistic interactions between plant compounds and antibiotics enhance antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. This type of combinations and their dual usage not only increase their antioxidant and antibacterial effects but also significantly reduce the active dose of antibiotics. Outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria act as an effective barrier against amphipathic agents, making them more resistant to these types of drugs. But their simultaneously plants and antibiotics usage surprisingly permeate the outer membrane making mentioned bacteria more sensitive. Purified plant components in combination with antibiotics enhance their efficacy against target bacteria and provide promising compounds for the development of new effective way for better curing the infectious diseases.