Pharmaceutica Analytica Acta

Abstracto

Potential of Herbal Drug and Antibiotic Combination Therapy: A New Approach to Treat Multidrug Resistant Bacteria

Bhardwaj M, Singh BR, Sinha DK, Kumar V, Prasanna Vadhana OR, Varan Singh S, Nirupama KR, Pruthvishree and Archana Saraf BS

The word antibiotic emerges from antibiosis mean against life; it is also because of the fact that antibiotics affect our life. Antimicrobial drug use is rampant not only in therapeutics but also in livestock production leading to continuous contamination of our environment. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to emergence and spread of antimicrobial drug resistance in microbes including pathogens leading to an imbalance in the microbiota of our system and the environment. Ominous distribution of antimicrobial drug resistance in microbes, and still then the use of antimicrobials cause several social, economic and psychological complications. At present the challenges are several with us, viz.: 1) The antibiotics, once considered miracle drugs, are now not miraculous and there is hardly any antibiotic available to treat Multiple Drug Resistant (MDR), Extended Drug Resistant (XDR), and Total Drug Resistant (TDR) microbes with a promise to cure; 2) There are no alternatives to antibiotics at hand or insight at present; 3) There are no policies to regulate antimicrobial drug use in most of the developing world if any they have not been implemented; 4) Antimicrobial drug-resistant strains are everywhere even in environment naive to human invasion; 5) Those are susceptible may get MDR strains from their clinicians; and 6) Clinicians usually ignore the physiological and psychological effects of antimicrobials while recommending the therapy and are least bothered for the side effects of antimicrobial chemotherapy. In treatment of number of infections, two or more drugs are however, the therapeutic efficacy of the combination depend interactions of drugs combined. Synergistic combinations help to reduce emergence of resistant mutants, toxicity, exhibit more antimicrobial activity and more effective against mixed infections. However, only little is understood about the combination of herbal antimicrobials and antibiotics. Herein the existing information on the synergy between antibiotics and herbal antimicrobials is reviewed.