Effect of galbanic acid, a sesquiterpene coumarin from Ferula szowitsiana, as an inhibitor of efflux mechanism in resistant clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus

Galbanic acid, a sesquiterpene coumarin from Ferula szowitsiana roots, was investigated for its potentiating effect on the antimicrobial activity of antibiotics as well as ethidium bromide, in 6 multidrug resistance (MDR) clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. Galbanic acid had inhibitory effect on none of the isolated bacteria tested (up to 800 µg /ml). The MIC range of ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and ethidium bromide, against all tested S. aureus were 10-80, 10-80 and 4-16 µg/ml, respectively. These were reduced to ≤2.5-5, 2.5-5 and 0.5-2 µg/ml in the presence of galbanic acid (300...