Paper II
2023 March (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme)

Question

Clavulanic acid with Amoxicillin

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Answer

Many resistant bacterial strains produce beta-lactamase enzymes that hydrolyze and inactivate amoxicillin’s beta-lactam ring before it can bind penicillin-binding proteins. Clavulanic acid is a beta-lactamase inhibitor — it has weak antibacterial activity of its own but binds and irreversibly inactivates bacterial beta-lactamases, protecting co-administered amoxicillin from degradation. This restores amoxicillin’s efficacy against beta-lactamase-producing organisms that would otherwise be resistant to amoxicillin alone.

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