title: Antibacterial activities of Origanum vulgare alone and in combination with different antimicrobials against clinical isolates of Salmonella typhi.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Typhoid fever continues to remain a major public health problem especially in the areas where there is problem of sanitation and hygiene. The emergence of multidrug resistance of Salmonella typhi, the bacteria responsible for Typhoid to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and cotrimoxazole has further complicated the treatment and management of enteric fever. One strategy for the treatment of the multidrug resistant bacteria is to use herbs in combination with conventional drugs. The present study was done to find out the interaction effect of phenolic, nonphenolic fractions, and volatile oil of Origanum vulgare with ciprofloxacin.
  
  
  METHODS
  The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) by microdilution method for individual phytoconstituents and in combination with ciprofloxacin was compared for clinically isolated bacteria from patients infected with S. typhi. Fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) and Fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) were also calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The MIC declined to a significant level indicating synergistic relationship between ciprofloxacin and phenolic, nonphenolic fractions and volatile oil in vitro. The FICI exhibits synergistic effect for all the three samples while indifferent and antagonistic for samples and for phenolic and nonphenolic fractions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Present study shows that not only the formulation using O. vulgare and ciprofloxacin can overcome multidrug resistance but also will reduce the toxic effects of ciprofloxacin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Jambheshwer University of Science and Technology, Hisar, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Veni
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bharti
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Jambheshwer University of Science and Technology, Hisar, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Neeru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vasudeva
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Jambheshwer University of Science and Technology, Hisar, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Joginder Singh
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Duhan
keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Salmonella typhi; fractional inhibitory concentration; minimum inhibitory concentration; multidrug resistance