Find in Library

This research focuses on assessing the synergistic effects of Mexican oregano (<i>Lippia graveolens)</i> essential oil or carvacrol when combined with the antibiotic imipenem, aiming to reduce the pathogenic viability and virulence of <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>. The study highlighted the synergistic effect of combining <i>L. graveolens</i> essential oil or carvacrol with imipenem, significantly reducing the required doses for inhibiting bacterial growth. The combination treatments drastically lowered the necessary imipenem doses, highlighting a potent enhancement in efficacy against <i>A. baumannii</i> and <i>P. aeruginosa</i>. For example, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for the essential oil/imipenem combinations were notably low, at 0.03/0.000023 mg/mL for <i>A. baumannii</i> and 0.0073/0.000023 mg/mL for <i>P. aeruginosa</i>. Similarly, the combinations significantly inhibited biofilm formation at lower concentrations than when the components were used individually, demonstrating the strategic advantage of this approach in combating antibiotic resistance. For OXA-51, imipenem showed a relatively stable interaction during 30 ns of dynamic simulation of their interaction, indicating changes (<2 nm) in ligand positioning during this period. Carvacrol exhibited similar fluctuations to imipenem, suggesting its potential inhibition efficacy, while thymol showed significant variability, particularly at >10 ns, suggesting potential instability. With IMP-1, imipenem also displayed very stable interactions during 38 ns and demonstrated notable movement and positioning changes within the active site, indicating a more dynamic interaction. In contrast, carvacrol and thymol maintained their position within the active site only ~20 and ~15 ns, respectively. These results highlight the effectiveness of combining <i>L. graveolens</i> essential oil and carvacrol with imipenem in tackling the difficult-to-treat pathogens <i>A. baumannii</i> and <i>P. aeruginosa</i>.