Antibacterial efficacy of different combinations of clove, eucalyptus, ginger, and selected antibiotics against clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial infections caused by multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa are commonly treated with conventional antibiotic which may lead to some serious side effects in the patients. Conventionally, medicinal plants, including clove, eucalyptus, and ginger, are used for the safe and effective treatment of several diseases. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim and objective of this study is to evaluate the combined antibacterial efficacy of medicinal plants (clove, eucalyptus, and ginger) and selected antibiotic and also combined efficacy of different plants extracts against clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of seven clinical isolates and one reference strain (PA01) of P. aeruginosa were included in this study. The antibacterial activity of crude methanol extracts of medicinal plants and selected antibiotics was screened using well-diffusion assay and their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by the microdilution method. Combined efficacy of ceftazidime and plant extracts was tested using standard checkerboard method and different plant extracts were evaluated using broth macrodilution method. RESULTS: All of the seven clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa showed multidrug resistance pattern and were found highly sensitive to ciprofloxacin followed by ceftazidime and gentamicin. Clove exhibited better antibacterial activity as compared to eucalyptus and ginger. Synergistic interaction was found between ceftazidime and plants extracts against reference PA01 and clinical isolate 2. Highest two-fold reduction in MIC was found in the combination of clove-ginger against reference PA01 and clinical isolate 3. CONCLUSION: The selected medicinal plants are highly efficient for enhancing the antibacterial activity of antibiotic.