Potentiation of antibiotic activity, and efflux pumps inhibition by (2E)‐1‐(4‐aminophenyl)‐3‐(4‐fluorophenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐one

In recent years, bacterial resistance to traditional drugs has increased, and the need to find new effective antibiotics to treat infections caused by multidrug‐resistant bacteria has consequently become more important. The current study aimed to evaluate the potentiation of antibiotic activity and efflux pumps inhibition by (2E)‐1‐(4‐aminophenyl)‐3‐(4‐fluorophenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐one (PA‐Fluorine) against the standard and resistant bacterial strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The association between PA‐Fluorine and ampicillin reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), showing a synergistic effect against S. aureus. For E. coli, PA‐Fluorine did not show any significant results when associated with ampicillin. Ciprofloxacin and chlorpromazine showed synergy with PA‐Fluorine on the two studied strains. An efflux pump mechanism was involved in the mechanism of action of chlorpromazine, norfloxacin, and ethidium bromide. PA‐Fluorine synergistically modulated norfloxacin and bromide. It was thus concluded that PA‐Fluorine has the potential to enhance antibacterial activity when combined with antibiotics. Molecular docking studies showed the effect of intermolecular interactions of PA‐Fluorine on the NorA and MepA efflux pumps. Physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties were also obtained by ADMET studies for this chalcone, which presents be a strong candidate as an efflux pump inhibitor.