Meeting Abstract
The present study aims to provide more insight into the use of antibiotics in order to reduce the amount of antibiotics used to prevent the rise of additional antibiotic resistant bacteria. The in vitro synergistic bacterial elimination of streptomycin and Trachemys scripta elegans plasma was studied. Four-hour time kill assays were conducted to determine the bactericidal capacities of turtle plasma, streptomycin, and the two combined against Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli. Different concentrations of T. scripta elegans plasma and streptomycin were tested. Streptomycin showed a higher bactericidal capacity in the presence of turtle plasma. Killing occurred at plasma concentrations as little as 1:40 when in the presence of 0.25 the minimum inhibitory concentration of streptomycin. It is suggested that factors of the humoral immune system, such as complement and natural antibodies, account for the synergistic bactericidal capacity of streptomycin on both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. This study demonstrates that T. scripta elegans plasma could be a potential treatment option to reduce the use of antibiotics.
