Modifying-antibiotic action of Hecogenin Acetate as an alternative to combat bacterial infections.

Bacterial infections are pathologies with specific morbidity and mortality that disrupt a high level of care in health systems. These diseases are treated using antibacterial drugs. Antibiotics are drugs that act by inhibiting bacterial growth or promoting the death of microorganisms. Their indiscriminate use is considered one of the main factors in the emergence of bacterial resistance, which is currently a major public health problem. Among the alternatives for controlling resistance is the search for new drugs, which are mainly based on the use of natural products with known bioactivity. These include Hecogenin Acetate, a sapogenin with significant anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antimicrobial activity. In order to evaluate HA's ability to modulate the antimicrobial activity of commonly used antibiotics, tests were carried out using the microdilution technique with bacterial strains of clinical interest. Hecogenin Acetate was found to be predominantly potentiating the antibiotic action, demonstrating that the association of Hecogenin Acetate with antibiotics presents a potential for innovative treatment, requiring further evaluation for the probable development of new antibacterial drugs. This action could classify the natural product as an important alternative for the pharmaceutical industry in the treatment of bacterial infections, reducing bacterial resistance and increasing the range of therapeutic possibilities, indirectly contributing to improvements in the public health scenario.