Final answer:
Amoxicillin is combined with clavulanic acid to prevent resistance by inhibiting the enzymes that degrade penicillin antibiotics, with the combination known as Augmentin.
Step-by-step explanation:
Amoxicillin is combined with clavulanic acid to overcome bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
Clavulanic acid is a ß-lactamase inhibitor that binds irreversibly to ß-lactamases, enzymes that bacteria produce to inactivate penicillin-like antibiotics.
By inhibiting these enzymes, clavulanic acid prevents the degradation of amoxicillin, allowing it to effectively kill the bacteria.
The fixed-dose combination of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid is known by the brand name Augmentin.
Despite concerns of increasing resistance, this combination remains an important strategy to fight bacterial infections that would otherwise be resistant to penicillin derivatives.