Clavulanate is a β-lactamase inhibitor used with antibiotics like amoxicillin to overcome bacterial resistance. It has weak antibacterial activity alone but protects antibiotics by inhibiting β-lactamase enzymes. Discovered in 1974 from Streptomyces clavuligerus, clavulanate was developed to combat increasing β-lactam resistance. By the early 1980s, it was combined with antibiotics in drugs like amoxicillin-clavulanate, extending their effectiveness and providing a major advance in treating resistant bacterial infections.
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