Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

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INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CARDAMOM ESSENTIAL OIL AND CONVENTIONAL ANTIBIOTICS AGAINST STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS CLINICAL ISOLATES

ADINA CATINCA GRĂDINARU1, ANA CLARA APROTOSOAIE1*, ADRIANA TRIFAN1, ADRIAN ȘPAC1, MIHAI BREBU2, ANCA MIRON1

1.Faculty of Farmacy, Grigore T.Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi, 16 Universitatii Street, Romania, Iași, 700115
2 .Physical Chemistry of Polymers Laboratory, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Grigore Ghica Voda Alley 41A, Romania, Iași, 70048

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cardamom essential oil and antibiotics combinations against methicillin-resistant clinical isolates and ATCC 25923 reference strain of Staphylococcus aureus. The interaction of the essential oil with the antibiotics was assessed by the checkerboard method. The chemical composition of essential oil was analysed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and α-terpinyl acetate (39.59%) and 1,8-cineole (31.27%) were identified as main compounds. Combinations of cardamom essential oil with amoxicillin or ciprofloxacin exerted mainly additive and indifferent effects on methicillin-resistant clinical isolates while combinations of 1,8-cineol with antibiotics generated antagonistic and indifferent effects. Additive effects on Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 were generated by the following combinations: cardamom essential oil – ciprofloxacin, 1,8-cineol – amoxicillin and 1,8-cineol – ciprofloxacin. The antagonistic interactions noted here, particularly for 1,8-cineol, suggest that its concomitant administration with amoxicillin or ciprofloxacin, depending on the combination ratios, can diminish the antibacterial activity of these antibiotics in infections with Staphyloccocus aureus isolates.