Abstract
Typhoid fever, the disease caused by Salmonella typhi serovar Typhi (S. typhi), remains a major question of the global population and especially in the developing world. The development of multidrug-resistant strains has led to the decline in the effectiveness of the conventional antibiotics, and the development of alternative antimicrobial agents is in demand. Kaempferol is a commonly occurring flavonoid that has been reported to have a wide range of pharmacological properties such as antimicrobial activity. The current research was conducted to assess the antibacterial properties of kaempferol against S. typhi through a combined in silico and in vitro research design. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and time-kill kinetic inhibition were used to determine in vitro antibacterial activity. Molecular docking of kaempferol with key proteins of the bacterial targets were done in silico. Kaempferol was also a moderate antibacterial agent with an MIC value of 64 µg/mL and it showed concentration-dependent growth inhibition. Molecular docking was found to have positive binding affinities of kaempferol to DNA gyrase, which are fundamental to the survival of bacteria. These results indicate that kaempferol has antibacterial properties against S. typhi due to its interference with essential processes of the bacterium and can be considered a good lead in the design of novel antibacterial agents