Evaluation of nisin–β-lactam antibiotics against clinical strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi

There is an imperative need to discover novel antimicrobials and anti-infective agents and build up innovative strategies to combat multidrug-resistant Salmonella. In this context, we had earlier confirmed that nisin has the potential to act in conjunction with β-lactams against murine salmonellosis using standard strain. However, evaluation of efficacy of these combinations against clinical isolates of Salmonella could be the next key step to confirm the value added potential of this peptide. The present study was therefore planned to validate the synergistic effects of nisin–β-lactams combinations against clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. MICs of the selected β-lactams, EDTA and nisin were determined by micro and macro broth dilution assays. In-vitro synergism between the agents was evaluated by fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index (checkerboard test) and time-kill assay. All the tested combinations showed synergy against the tested clinical strains except three, as evident by FIC index (checkerboard test) and time-kill assay. Especially, nisin–ceftriaxone and nisin–cefotaxime combinations demonstrated excellent synergistic activity. In view of the encouraging results obtained from the previous and present study, further studies need to be carried out using large number of strains from different regions to take into account the clinical variability of the strains. Though it is a simple study but highlights an important point about the possibility of using the said combination while making strategies to develop newer formulations.