In vitro Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Romanian Propolis and Antibiotics against Escherichia coli Isolated from Bovine Mastitis

The study was aimed to characterize the chemical composition and the antimicrobial activity of Romanian propolis ethanolic extracts (EEP) against antibiotic-sensitive and antibiotic-resistant E. coli strains isolated from bovine mastitis. The preliminary antimicrobial screening was performed by a disk diffusion method, followed by determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) based on broth microdilution assay; further, the synergistic action of propolis with antimicrobial drugs was assessed by a disk diffusion method on agar containing subinhibitory concentrations of propolis. For the chemical characterisation of EEP, the flavonoids (flavones/flavonols, flavanones/dihydroflavonols) and total phenolics were evaluated by spectrophotometric methods. The phenolic compounds of these extracts were also determined using HPLC. The results indicated for Romanian propolis ethanolic extracts the typical poplar composition profile with flavonoids and phenolic acids as main biological active compounds, with chromatographic analysis data confirmed also spectrophotometrically. In addition, positively correlated with the chemical composition, a strong antimicrobial efficacy was exhibited towards E. coli strains, along with interesting synergistic interaction with antibiotics that can be further investigated to obtain propolis-based formulation with antibacterial properties. Subsequent in vitro and in vivo studies evaluating the safety and efficacy are intended to consider propolis in veterinary therapeutic protocols.