Enhancing Antibacterial
Efficacy: Exploring the Synergistic Effects of Medicinal Plant Extracts and Antibiotics
against E. coli
Patre Praveenkumar and Wadhai Vijay
Res. J. Biotech.; Vol. 20(4); 76-84;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/204rjbt076084; (2025)
Abstract
In this study, the focus was on exploring the antibacterial properties of selected
medicinal plants and their combined effect with antibiotics. The research utilized
five different isolates of Escherichia coli (E. coli). The findings revealed that
methanol extracts from most tested plants hindered the growth of bacteria. Notably,
black pepper exhibited the most significant inhibition with a zone diameter of 19
mm, followed by clove at 18 mm and thyme at 17 mm.
It shows that when plant extracts are combined with antibiotics, they show a synergistic
effect, effectively inhibiting the targeted organisms. Particularly, the synergy
with black pepper extract proved to be more potent in inhibiting antibiotic-resistant
bacteria, followed by clove and thyme, in descending order of effectiveness.
