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. 1972 Jan;1(1):30–34. doi: 10.1128/aac.1.1.30

Antibiotic Synergism Against Listeria monocytogenes1

Robert C Moellering Jr 1,2,3,4, Gerald Medoff 1,2,3,4, Irene Leech 1,2,3,4, Christine Wennersten 1,2,3,4, Lawrence J Kunz 1,2,3,4
PMCID: PMC444161  PMID: 4207757

Abstract

The effectiveness of ampicillin, penicillin, streptomycin, and gentamicin against 20 strains of Listeria monocytogenes was studied in vitro. For all strains, the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of both ampicillin and penicillin was much higher than the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). The MBC of both streptomycin and gentamicin was close to the MIC, but relatively high concentrations of these antibiotics were necessary to inhibit the growth of most of the strains of Listeria. The combination of penicillin plus streptomycin was synergistic against 19 of 20 strains and in the remaining strain produced enhanced killing (but of less magnitude than our criterion for synergism). Combinations of penicillin plus gentamicin, ampicillin plus streptomycin, and ampicillin plus gentamicin produced enhanced killing against all strains tested. No antagonism was observed when ampicillin or penicillin was combined with streptomycin or gentamicin.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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