Figure 9.

The antibacterial and morphological effect of sertraline (SER), metronidazole (MTZ), and combinations of both against H. pylori Tx30a and 7143 strains. The existence of interaction in the antimicrobial activity of SER with MTZ was determined against the reference, antibiotic-susceptible H. pylori Tx30a (A) and the clinical, double-resistant H. pylori 7143 strain (B). The white circles indicate wells in which the number of spiral forms was ≤15%, while the white circles with a cross in the middle indicate empty wells. Using red asterisks, the wells with the MICs of the tested substances were marked, whereas in the case of the interactions verification, they indicate the lowest FIC. The green asterisk marked the place where the additive interaction was shown (FIC = 0.506), while the MTZ concentration was significantly reduced (16-fold). Abbreviations: Sertraline, SER; Metronidazole, MTZ; Positive control, CON+; Negative control, CON-.