Antibacterial activity and ciprofloxacin-potentiation property of Berberis vulgaris asperma stem extracts on pathogenic bacteria

Introduction: this study was planned to search the antibacterial activities of the ethanol and chloroform extracts of berberis vulgaris asperma stem and their synergistic effects with ciprofloxacin against some gram-negative pathogenic bacteria.methods: broth micro-dilution method was used for determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (mics) of the extracts alone or in association with ciprofloxacin and phenylalanine-arginine β-naphtylamide (paβn) as a positive control and efflux pumps inhibitor (epi).results: mic determination indicated that the extracts from berberis vulgaris asperma stem were able to inhibit the growth of all the studied bacteria within a concentration range of 3900 to 37500 μg/ml. synergistic effects were noted between the extracts from berberis vulgaris asperma stem extracts and ciprofloxacin on all tested bacteria except acinetobacter bummani.conclusion: berberis vulgaris asperma stem extracts act as an antibacterial agent and potentiate ciprofloxacin effects on examined pathogenic bacteria.