Multidrug resistance poses a severe threat to public health and urgently requires new solutions. The natural product chelerythrine (CHE) is a benzophenanthridine alkaloid with antimicrobial potential. In this study, CHE was effective against seven gram-positive bacterial strains, and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged from 2 to 4 μg/mL. By contrast, CHE showed inferior antibacterial activities against 11 gram-negative strains, and the MICs varied from 16 to 256 μg/mL. We also determined the synergistic/additive effects of combining CHE with nine currently used antibiotics. CHE restored the antibacterial efficacy of the antibiotics against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and extended-spectrum β-lactamases producing Escherichia coli. This study suggests that the combination of CHE with conventional antibiotics may be a promising strategy to combat infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms.

中文翻译：

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与白屈菜红碱联用恢复耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌和超广谱β-内酰胺酶大肠杆菌的抗生素敏感性

多药耐药性对公众健康构成严重威胁，迫切需要新的解决方案。天然产物白屈菜红碱 (CHE) 是一种具有抗菌潜力的苯并菲啶生物碱。在本研究中，CHE 对 7 种革兰氏阳性细菌菌株有效，最低抑菌浓度 (MIC) 范围为 2 至 4 μg/mL。相比之下，CHE 对 11 种革兰氏阴性菌株的抗菌活性较差，MIC 从 16 到 256 μg/mL 不等。我们还确定了 CHE 与九种目前使用的抗生素相结合的协同/相加效应。CHE恢复抗生素对耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌和产超广谱β-内酰胺酶的大肠杆菌的抗菌作用. 这项研究表明，将 CHE 与常规抗生素联合使用可能是对抗由多重耐药菌引起的感染的一种有前景的策略。