Abstract
The synergistic antibacterial activity of two stilbenes [3,4′,5-trihydroxystilbene (1) and 3,5-dihydroxy-4-isopropylstilbene(2)] purified from a Bacillus sp. N strain associated with entomopathogenic nematode Rhabditis (Oscheius) in combination with ciprofloxacin and cefotaxime was investigated. The activity of the stilbenes and standard antibiotics on bacteria were determined using the macrodilution method. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of the stilbenes was compared with that of the standard antibiotics. The antibacterial activities of stilbenes against pathogenic bacteria were assessed using the checkerboard and time-kill methods to evaluate the synergistic effects of stilbenes in treatment with ciprofloxacin or cefotaxime. The results of the present study showed that the combination effects of both stilbenes with ciprofloxacin were synergistic (FIC index <0.5). Whereas stilbene 2 with cefotaxime recorded additive. Furthermore, time-kill study showed that the growth of the tested bacteria was completely attenuated with 12–24 h of treatment with 50:50 ratios of stilbenes and antibiotics. These results suggest that stilbenes combined with antibiotics may be microbiologically beneficial and not antagonistic. These findings have potential implications in delaying the development of resistance as the antibacterial effect is achieved with lower concentrations of both drugs (antibiotics and stilbenes). The in vitro synergistic activity of stilbenes and antibiotics against bacteria is reported here for the first time.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adwan G, Mhanna M (2008) Synergistic effects of plant extracts and antibiotics on Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from clinical specimens. Middle-East J Sci Res 3:134–139
Aiyegoro OA, Okoh AI (2009) Use of bioactive plant products in combination with standard antibiotics: implications in antimicrobial chemotherapy. J Med Plant Res 3:1147–1152
Albert S, Horbach R, Deising HB, Siewert B, Csuk R (2011) Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of (E) stilbene derivatives. Bioorg Med Chem 19:5155–5166
Aslam SN, Stevenson PC, Kokubunb T, Hall DR (2009) Antibacterial and antifungal activity of cicerfuran and related 2-arylbenzofurans and stilbenes. Microbiol Res 164:191–195
Beringer PM (1999) New approaches to optimizing antimicrobial therapy in patients with cystic fibrosis. Curr Opin Pulm Med 5:371–377
Bhat KP, Lantvit D, Christov K, Mehta RG, Moon RC, Pezzuto JM (2001) Estrogenic and antiestrogenic properties of resveratrol in mammary tumor models. Cancer Res 61:7456–7463
Bode HB (2009) Entomopathogenic bacteria as a source of secondary metabolites. Curr Opin Chem Biol 13:224–230
Chung PY, Parasakthi N, Chung LY (2011) Synergistic antimicrobial activity between pentacyclic triterpenoids and antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus strains. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob 10(25):1–6
CLSI, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (2006) Methods for dilution antimicrobial susceptibility tests for bacteria that grow aerobically. CLSI documents M27-S3. 940 West Valley Road, Suite 1400, Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087-1898 USA
Forst S, Nealson KH (1996) Molecular biology of the symbiotic-pathogenic bacteria Xenorhabdus spp. and Photorhabdus spp. Microbiol Rev 51:47–72
Hirai K (2005) History of mode of action and resistance mechanisms of quinolones. Jpn J Chemother 53:349–356
Jang M, Cai L, Udeani GO, Slowing KV, Thomas CF, Beecher CW, Fong HH, Farnsworth NR, Kinghorn AD, Mehta RG, Moon RC, Pezzuto JM (1997) Cancer chemopreventive activity of resveratrol, a natural product derived from grapes. Science 275:218–220
Kumar SN, Siji JV, Rajasekharan KN, Nambisan B, Mohandas C (2012) Bioactive stilbenes from a Bacillus sp. N strain associated with a novel rhabditid entomopathogenic nematode. Lett Appl Microbiol. ISSN 0266-8254: 1-7
Lee Y, Jang K, Cha J (2012) Synergistic antibacterial effect between silibinin and antibiotics in oral bacteria. J Biomed Biotechnol 618081:1–7
Levy SB (2002) The antibiotic paradox: how misuse of antibiotics destroys their curative powers, 2nd edn. Perseus Books, Boston
Levy SB, Marshall B (2005) Antibacterial resistance worldwide: causes, challenges and responses. Nat Med 10:122–129
Marokhazi J, Lengyel K, Pekar S, Felfoldi G, Patthy A, Graf L, Fodar A, Venekei I (2004) Comparison of proteolytic activities produced by entomopathogenic Photorhabdus bacteria: strain- and phase-dependent heterogeneity in composition and activity of four enzymes. Appl Environ Microbiol 70:7311–7320
NCCLS, National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (1999) Methods for determining bactericidal activity of antimicrobial agents; approved guidelines, M26-A, vol 19. National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards, Wayne
Paul VJ, Frautschy S, Fenical W, Nealson KH (1981) Antibiotics in microbial ecology, isolation and structure assignment of several new antibacterial compounds from the insect symbiotic bacteria Xenorhabdus spp. J Chem Ecol 7:589–597
Paulo L, Ferreira S, Gallardo E, Queiroz JA, Domingu F (2010) Antimicrobial activity and effects of resveratrol on human pathogenic bacteria. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 26:1533–1538
Pillai SK, Moellering RC (2005) Antimicrobial combinations. Antibiotics in laboratory medicine. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, New York, pp 365–400
Richardson WH, Schmidt TM, Nealson KH (1988) Identification of an anthraquinone pigment and a hydroxystilbene antibiotic from Xenorhabdus luminescens. Appl Environ Microbiol 54:1602–1605
Rybak MJ, McGrath BJ (1996) Combination antimicrobial therapy for bacterial infections. Guidelines for the clinician. Drugs 52:390–405
Sweeney MT, Zurenko GE (2003) In vitro activities of linezolid combined with other antimicrobial agents against Staphylococci, Enterococci, Pneumococci, and selected gram-negative organisms. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 47(6):1902–1906
Weber K, Schulz B, Ruhnke M (2011) Resveratrol and its antifungal activity against Candida species. Mycose 54:30–33
Wyrzykiewicz E, Wendzonka M, Kędzia B (2006) Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of new (E)-4-[piperidino (4′-methylpiperidino-, morpholino-)N-alkoxy] stilbenes. Eur J Med Chem 41:519–525
Yu L, Sun ZJ, Wu SL, Pan CE (2003) Effect of resveratrol on cell cycle proteins in murine transplantable liver cancer. World J Gastroenterol 9:2341–2343
Yu HH, Kim KJ, Cha JD, Kim HK, Lee YE, Choi NY, You YO (2005) Antimicrobial activity of berberine alone and in combination with ampicillin or oxacillin against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. J Med Food 8:454–461
Zain WZWM, Ahmat N, Norizan NH, Nazri NAAM (2011) The evaluation of antioxidant, antibacterial and structural identification activity of trimer resveratrol from Malaysia’s Dipterocarpaceae. Aust J Basic Appl Sci 5:926–929
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR), Government of India for funding. We thank the Director, CTCRI, for providing facilities for the work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kumar, S.N., Siji, J.V., Nambisan, B. et al. Activity and synergistic interactions of stilbenes and antibiotic combinations against bacteria in vitro. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 28, 3143–3150 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-012-1124-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-012-1124-0