Beta lactamase Inhibitors from Indigenous Herbs and Spices

Antibiotic resistance being called as the ‘ticking time bomb’ of the 21 st century, as the antibiotic channel is losing sheen and is on a standstill due to lack of initiatives for new antibiotic development, and other novel solutions are required for its revival. Penicillin, the oldest among the antibiotics, obtained from the Penicillium mold, was one of the first antibiotics used to treat infectious diseases by inhibiting the growth of gram positive bacteria. Later due to microbial resistance the prominence of this antibiotic lurched. It was due to the ability of some microbial strains to synthesize β-lactamases, which in turn inactivate penicillins by hydrolyzing the β-lactam ring and thereby promoting resistance to the antibiotic. Today several types of βlactamase enzymes are known to inactivate different classes of antibiotics causing a major crisis in the field of medicine, which requires effective β-lactamase inhibitors to decipher this problem. In this study, Penicillin antibiotic, β-lactamase enzyme and β-lactamase inhibitor activity was analyzed by Iodometry and Bioassay methods. Sulbactum was used as the standard β-lactamase enzyme inhibitor throughout the study. In the current study, the β-lactamase inhibitor activity of 68 extracts from Indian herbs and spices was surveyed. Most promising results of the β-lactamase inhibitor activity in vivo and in vitro were achieved from the herbal extracts of Baheda (Terminalia bellerica), Ginger (Zingiber officinale), Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri), Garlic (Allium sativum), Gurmar (Gymnema sylvestre), Satavar (Asparagus racemosus) and Pomegranate (Punica granatum) peels and seeds against Staphylococcus aureus as the test organism. As many microorganisms are becoming resistant to antibiotics, it is indeed necessary to find new β-lactamase inhibitors.