TY - JOUR
T1 - A study of the antimicrobial activity of selected naturally occurring and synthetic coumarins
AU - Smyth, T.
AU - Ramachandran, V. N.
AU - Smyth, W. F.
PY - 2009/5
Y1 - 2009/5
N2 - The antimicrobial activities of 43 naturally occurring and synthetic coumarins were studied. Using a microtitre assay developed in-house, a range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including a hospital isolate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),were utilised. The coumarins exhibiting good bioactivity (i.e. a lowminimum inhibitory concentration) against two S. aureus strains were then assessed for their antimicrobial activities against a range of eight clinically isolated MRSA strains. The study showed that nearly one-half of the tested compounds displayed antimicrobial activity. Sixteen of these coumarins also possessed resistance-modifying activity, which reversed the resistance mechanism in MRSA allowing the antimicrobial oxacillin to exert an enhanced effect against an MRSA hospital strain. When tested in combination with oxacillin, 8-iodo-5,7-dihydroxycoumarin (32) had a similar activity to vancomycin, which is the current drug of choice for the treatment of MRSA infections.
AB - The antimicrobial activities of 43 naturally occurring and synthetic coumarins were studied. Using a microtitre assay developed in-house, a range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including a hospital isolate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),were utilised. The coumarins exhibiting good bioactivity (i.e. a lowminimum inhibitory concentration) against two S. aureus strains were then assessed for their antimicrobial activities against a range of eight clinically isolated MRSA strains. The study showed that nearly one-half of the tested compounds displayed antimicrobial activity. Sixteen of these coumarins also possessed resistance-modifying activity, which reversed the resistance mechanism in MRSA allowing the antimicrobial oxacillin to exert an enhanced effect against an MRSA hospital strain. When tested in combination with oxacillin, 8-iodo-5,7-dihydroxycoumarin (32) had a similar activity to vancomycin, which is the current drug of choice for the treatment of MRSA infections.
KW - Antimicrobial activity
KW - Coumarins
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=62949193424&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2008.10.022
DO - 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2008.10.022
M3 - Article
C2 - 19155158
AN - SCOPUS:62949193424
SN - 0924-8579
VL - 33
SP - 421
EP - 426
JO - International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
JF - International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
IS - 5
ER -
