A METHOD OF CURING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT PLASMIDS

摘要

The subject of our invention is to identify a novel plasmid curing/antiplasmid agent from the rhizomes of Alpinia galanga (L.) Swartz. The compound used in the present invention I 'acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA) with a formula C₁₃H₁₄O₄ is not known before as an antiplasmid agent. ACA is capable of reducing the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of antibiotic required to inhibit growth of bacteria thus making the antibiotic treatment more effective in vivo and in vitro. It is capable of curing plasmids from bacterial host by reducing the copy number of plasmids in the daughter cells or by completely eliminating the plasmids in the daughter cells. Thus, ACA has a potential of eliminating or curing antibiotic resistance in bacterial cells making the bacterial population sensitive to antibiotic.