Fig. 7: Synergistic actions between punicalagin and conventional antibiotics improved mortality and reduced the bacterial burden in major organs of mice challenged with the MRSA MW2 strain. | npj Biofilms and Microbiomes

Fig. 7: Synergistic actions between punicalagin and conventional antibiotics improved mortality and reduced the bacterial burden in major organs of mice challenged with the MRSA MW2 strain.

From: Exploiting strong synergies between punicalagin and cefoperazone to combat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections

Fig. 7

A Daily injection with punicalagin (PA) at 10 mg/kg bodyweight (BW) and the β-lactam antibiotic cefoperazone (CF) at 2.5–20 mg/kg BW, alone or in combination, for 7 days, markedly improved the survival rate of mice challenged with MRSA. The combination of PA and CF at 10 mg/kg BW each completely protected mice starting at 3 days of treatment (mortality = 0%), which was also achieved by the CF and sulbactam (SB) combination at 10 mg/kg BW each. N = 8 per group. B Mean MRSA burden in major organs expressed as the reduction in log10 colony-forming units (CFU, Y-axis), counted on the agar plate after overnight incubation. C The combination therapy between PA and antibiotics for 3 days (72 h) significantly downregulated pro-inflammatory marker genes in the liver tissue. D The combination treatment significantly reduced the number of inflammatory infiltrates in the liver tissue. Arrow shows a pattern of hepatic sinusoid dilatation. Negative control = healthy uninfected and untreated. Control = MRSA infected but untreated. ***P < 0.001; **P < 0.01; *P < 0.05 (one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s HSD as post hoc test). N = 10 per group.

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