Abstract:Objective To study the activity of ten kinds of antipyretic-antidotal traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including radix tinosporae, herb of blin conyza and turmeric, against extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (XDR-AB) infection, screen out the extracts of antipyretic-antidotal TCM which have in vivo anti-infection activity, provide a research basis for the discovery of novel antimicrobials against XD-RAB infection. Methods Ten antipyretic-antidotal TCM were extracted with water, 50% ethanol and 95% ethanol respectively, and TCM extracts with different concentrations were prepared, which were co-incubated with the model of XDR-AB-infected Caenorhabditis elegans previously optimized by the research group. The in vivo activity of antipyretic-antidotal TCM against XDR-AB infection was judged through the survival rate of Caenorhabditis elegans. Results With the increase of concentration of turmeric and cortex pseudolaricis extracts, the survival rate of XDR-AB-infected nematodes continued to improve. The water extract, 50% ethanol extract, and 95% ethanol extract of turmeric at a concentration of 1 000 μg/mL could increase the survival rates of XDR-AB-infected Caenorhabditis elegans to 54.2% (compared to the negative control group, P < 0.001), 18.8%, and 13.3%, respectively. The water extract, 50% ethanol extract, and 95% ethanol extract of cortex pseudolaricis at a concentration of 1 000 μg/mL could increase the survival rates of XDR-AB-infected Caenorhabditis elegans to 47.4% (compared to the negative control group, P < 0.001), 23.8%, and 15.8%, respectively. Conclusion The water extracts of turmeric and cortex pseudolaricis have good activity against XDR-AB infection, and their main chemical components can be tested for in vitro antimicrobial efficacy to discover novel antimicrobial agents against XDR-AB infection.