Synergistic Antibacterial Effect between Silibinin and Antibiotics in Oral Bacteria

• Published in: Journal of biomedicine & biotechnology 2012-01, Vol.2012 (2012), p.1-7
• Main Authors: Lee, Young-Soo, Jang, Kyeung-Ae, Cha, Jeong-Dan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actinobacillus - drug effects; Ampicillin - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Drug Synergism; Gentamicins - pharmacology; Gram-Negative Anaerobic Straight, Curved, and Helical Rods - drug effects; Humans; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Mouth - microbiology; Silymarin - pharmacology; Streptococcus - drug effects
• ISSN: 1110-7243; 1110-7251
• DOI: 10.1155/2012/618081

Silibinin is a composition of the silymarin group as a hepatoprotective agent, and it exhibits various biological activities, including antibacterial activity. In this study, the antibacterial activities of silibinin were investigated in combination with two antimicrobial agents against oral bacteria. Silibinin was determined with MIC and MBC values ranging from 0.1 to 3.2 and 0.2 to 6.4 μg/mL, ampicillin from 0.125 to 64 and 0.5 to 64 μg/mL, gentamicin from 2 to 256 and 4 to 512 μg/mL, respectively. The ranges of MIC50 and MIC90 were 0.025–0.8 μg/mL and 0.1–3.2 μg/mL, respectively. The antibacterial activities of silibinin against oral bacteria were assessed using the checkerboard and time-kill methods to evaluate the synergistic effects of treatment with ampicillin or gentamicin. The results were evaluated showing that the combination effects of silibinin with antibiotics were synergistic (FIC index