Antibacterial activity and ciprofloxacin-potentiation property of Berberis vulgaris asperma stem extracts on pathogenic bacteria

This study was planned to search the antibacterial activities of the ethanol and Chloroform extracts of Berberis vulgaris asperma stem and their synergistic effects with ciprofloxacin against some gram-negative pathogenic bacteria.
Broth micro-dilution method was used for determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extracts alone or in association with ciprofloxacin and Phenylalanine-Arginine β-Naphtylamide (PAβN) as a positive control and efflux pumps inhibitor (EPI).
MIC determination indicated that the extracts from Berberis vulgaris asperma stem were able to inhibit the growth of all the studied bacteria within a concentration range of 3900 to 37500 μg/mL. Synergistic effects were noted between the extracts from Berberis vulgaris asperma stem extracts and ciprofloxacin on all tested bacteria except Acinetobacter bummani.
Berberis vulgaris asperma stem extracts act as an antibacterial agent and potentiate ciprofloxacin effects on examined pathogenic bacteria.