Artesunate potentiates antibiotics by inactivating heme-harbouring bacterial nitric oxide synthase and catalase
2011

Artesunate Boosts Antibiotics Against Bacteria

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Zeng Qing-Ping, Xiao Na, Wu Pei, Yang Xue-Qin, Zeng Li-Xiang, Guo Xiao-Xia, Zhang Ping-Zu, Qiu Frank

Primary Institution: Tropical Medicine Institute, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China

Hypothesis

Can artesunate enhance the effectiveness of antibiotics against multidrug-resistant bacteria?

Conclusion

Artesunate may help kill multidrug-resistant bacteria by reducing their nitric oxide production and increasing their susceptibility to antibiotics.

Supporting Evidence

  • Artesunate reduced nitric oxide production in bacteria.
  • Bacteria treated with artesunate and antibiotics showed slower growth compared to those treated with antibiotics alone.
  • Artesunate may act as a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor.

Takeaway

Artesunate is a medicine that can make antibiotics work better against tough bacteria by stopping them from protecting themselves.

Methodology

Bacterial cultures were treated with artesunate and antibiotics, and their growth and nitric oxide production were measured.

Limitations

The study primarily focused on specific bacterial strains and may not generalize to all bacteria.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.01

Statistical Significance

p<0.01

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1756-0500-4-223

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