title: Synergistic effects of the combination of galangin with gentamicin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: The antimicrobial killing activity toward methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been a serious emerging global issue. New effective antimicrobials and/or new approaches to settle this issue are urgently needed. The oriental herb, Alpinia officinarum, has been used in Korea for several hundreds of years to treat various infectious diseases. As it is well known, one of the active constituents of Alpinia officinarum is galangin. Against the 17 strains, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of galangin (GAL) were in the range of 62.5 ~ 125 microg/ml, and the MICs of gentamicin (GEN) ranged from 1.9 microg/ml to 2,000 microg/ml. The fractional inhibitory concentrations (FICs) of GAL, in combination with GEN, against 3 test strains were 0.4, 3.9, and 250 microg/ml, and were all 15.62 microg/ml in GEN. The FIC index showed marked synergism in the value range of 0.19 to 0.25. By determining time-kill curves, also confirmed the low synergism of the GAL and GEN combination against 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, and 24 h cultured MRSA. The time-kill study results indicated a low synergistic effect against 3 test strains. Thus, the mixture of GAL and GEN could lead to the development of new combination antibiotics against MRSA infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oriental Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Wonkwang Oriental Medicines Research Institute, Jeonbuk, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Seob
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ok-Hwa
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Jang-Gi
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: You-Chang
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Hee-Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.forename: Jong Hak
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Dong Hwan
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Zheng-Tao
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dong-Yeul
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D032429:Alpinia / Q000378:metabolism; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005419:Flavonoids; D005839:Gentamicins; D010936:Plant Extracts; C037032:galangin