An In Vitro Coumarin-Antibiotic Combination Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms

Abstract

The drug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a worldwide problem due to its great threat to human health. A crude extract of Angelica dahurica has been proved to have antibacterial properties, which suggested that it may be able to inhibit the biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa; initial exploration had shown that the crude extract could inhibit the growth of P. aeruginosa effectively. After the adaptive dose of coumarin was confirmed to be a potential treatment for the bacteria’s drug resistance, “coumarin-antibiotic combination treatments” (3 coumarins—simple coumarin, imperatorin, and isoimperatorin—combined with 2 antibiotics—ampicillin and ceftazidime) were examined to determine their capability to inhibit P. aeruginosa. The final results showed that (1) coumarin with either ampicillin or ceftazidime significantly inhibited the biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa; (2) coumarin could directly destroy mature biofilms; and (3) the combination treatment can synergistically enhance the inhibition of biofilm formation, which could significantly reduce the usage of antibiotics and bacterial resistance. To sum up, a coumarin-antibiotic combination treatment may be a potential way to inhibit the biofilm growth of P. aeruginosa and provides a reference for antibiotic resistance treatment.