Download Template for abstracts - Formatex Research Center

Science against microbial pathogens: communicating current research and technological advances
A. Méndez-Vilas (Ed.)
Review Article
Combination therapy: Synergism between natural plant extracts and antibiotics
against infectious diseases
Sumitra Chanda* and Kalpna Rakholiya
Phytochemical, Pharmacological and Microbiological Laboratory, Department of Biosciences, Saurashtra University, Rajkot
360 005, Gujarat, India
* Author for correspondence, E-mail: [email protected]
Antibiotics are one of the most important weapons in fighting bacterial infections and have greatly benefited the
health‐related quality of human life since their introduction. However, over the past few decades these health
benefits are under threat as many commonly used antibiotics have become less and less effective against certain
illnesses not only because many of them produce toxic reactions but also due to emergence of drug resistant
bacteria. Resistance development is an even bigger problem since the bacterial resistance is often not restricted to
the specific antibiotic prescribed, but generally extend to other compounds of the same class. Bacterial resistance
and its rapid increase is a major concern of global public health and is emerging as one of the most significant
challenges to human health. Treating bacterial infections by antibiotics is beneficial but their indiscriminate use
has led to an alarming resistance among microorganisms as well as led to re-emergence of old infectious
diseases. Antibiotics that work today may not work tomorrow. One approach to treat infectious diseases is the
use of plant extracts individually and or an alternative approach is the use of combination of antibiotics with
plant extracts. This later approach i.e. combination therapy or synergistic therapy, against resistant
microorganisms may lead to new ways of treating infectious diseases and probably this represents a potential
area for further future investigations. Combination therapy is profitable for patients with serious infections
caused by drug resistant pathogens. Synergistic therapy can be used to expand the antimicrobial spectrum, to
prevent the emergence of resistant mutants, to minimize toxicity, and to obtain synergistic antimicrobial activity.
The present review describes in detail, the observed synergy and mechanism of action between natural extracts
and standard antibiotics combating bacterial and fungal infections. The mode of action of combination therapy
significantly differs from that of the same drugs acting individually; therefore the selection of an appropriate
combination is crucial and essential which requires understanding the potential interaction between the plant
extracts and antimicrobial agents.
Keywords Synergistic therapy; antimicrobics; natural extracts; multidrug resistance; standard antibiotics