It has a lactam ring like all antibiotics of the beta-lactam group(penicillins (penams), cephalosporins (cephems), monobactams, carbapenems), but it does not have any antibiotic power itself.
It is useful in that it is a competitive inhibitor of bacterial ß-lactamase; it joins onto the active site of this enzyme, used by resistant bacteria to break down and deactivate many antibiotics of that group, and deactivates the bacterial enzyme. As a result, it can be used in conjunction with antibiotics that would otherwise be ineffective.
Examples of this include Co-amoxiclav (Augmentin), in which clavulanic acid is combined with amoxicillin.
This so-called broad-spectrum or combination antibiotic may be used against a variety of bacteria, possibly including Klebsiella .
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... Lactam ....