EFFECT OF QUERCETIN AND ITS 7-METHOXY DERIVATIVE ON THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF CIPROFLOXACIN IN SOME SELECTED BACTERIA

Abstract

Infectious diseases account for approximately one-half of all deaths in tropical countries and
the rate at which antibiotic resistant bacteria emerge is not matched by the rate of
development of new antibiotics to combat them. Flavonoids is an important class of
compounds with diverse biological activities which include interesting areas such as antioxidant,
anti-aging, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-viral. The aim of this study is to
determine the potential synergistic effect of Quercetin and 7-methoxyquercetin on
antibacterial activity of Ciprofloxacin. Agar well diffusion method according to the National
Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standard (NCLSI, 2011) was adopted for the study and
organisms tested include: Vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), methicillin
resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Bacillus substilis, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella
pneumonia and Escherichia coli.The compounds Quercetin and 7-methoxyquercetin
potentiate the antimicrobial activity of 15 μg/ml ciprofloxacin (zone of inhibition ranging
from 32-37 mm) as against ciprofloxacin (30 μg/ml) alone(zone of inhibition ranging from
30-32 mm).The above findings suggest that the compounds can be used to enhance the
antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin