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Antibacterial activity of Chinese propolis and its synergy with β-lactams against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

  • Bacterial and Fungal Pathogenesis - Short Communication
  • Published:
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Abstract

Propolis has exhibited effective antibacterial activities in preventing the growth of multiple pathogenic bacteria. However, the antibacterial activity of Chinese propolis against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is almost unknown. The present study aimed to explore the antibacterial activity and action mechanism of Chinese propolis ethanol extract (CPEE) against MRSA. Thirteen compounds of CPEE were identified using HPLC–DAD/Q-TOF–MS, and none of them showed better anti-MRSA activity than CPEE. The diameter of inhibition zone (DIZ) of CPEE was 20.1 mm. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of CPEE was 32 mg/L, while the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) against MRSA was 64 mg/L. Moreover, CPEE showed significant synergistic effects with β-lactam antibiotics (ampicillin and oxacillin). Nucleic acid and protein leakage assays showed that CPEE can stimulate the release of intracellular macromolecules by damaging the cell membrane integrity of MRSA. Live/dead-staining and SDS-PAGE assays further confirmed that CPEE could inhibit bacterial activities by disrupting the membrane. The reduction in PBP2a expression and β-lactamase activity, as shown by western blot and β-lactamase detection assays, suggested that CPEE was able to reverse the drug resistance of MRSA. These results demonstrated the anti-MRSA activity of CPEE was mainly due to changing the cell membrane and reversing resistance, which indicates that CPEE could be an attractive candidate for use in future food and medical applications.

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Abbreviations

CPEE:

Chinese propolis ethanol extract

DIZ:

Diameter of inhibition zone

FIC:

Fractional inhibitory concentration

MBC:

Minimal bactericidal concentration

MIC:

Minimal inhibitory concentration

MRSA:

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

TSA:

Trypticase soy agar

TSB:

Trypticase soy broth

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Funding

This work was supported by grants from Shandong Province Modern Agricultural Technology System (SDAIT-24–05), Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (ZR2021MC110) and the Doctoral Research Foundation of Liaocheng University (No. 318051826).

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Author notes

  1. Fei Wang and Jie Yuan contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Science, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, 252059, China

    Fei Wang, Jie Yuan, Junya Li, Hui Liu & Hongzhuan Xuan

  2. School of Pharmacy, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, 252059, China

    Fuyao Wei

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  1. Fei Wang
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  2. Jie Yuan
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  3. Junya Li
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  4. Hui Liu
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Correspondence to Fuyao Wei or Hongzhuan Xuan.

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Wang, F., Yuan, J., Li, J. et al. Antibacterial activity of Chinese propolis and its synergy with β-lactams against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Braz J Microbiol 53, 1789–1797 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-022-00807-0

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