Potassium clavulanate is a potassium salt having clavulanate as the counterion. It acts as a suicide inhibitor of bacterial beta-lactamase enzymes and has only weak anitbiotic activity when administered alone. However it can be used in combination with amoxicillin trihydrate (under the trade name Augmentin) for treatment of a variety of bacterial infections, where it prevents antibiotic inactivation by microbial lactamases. It has a role as an antimicrobial agent, an EC 3.5.2.6 (beta-lactamase) inhibitor and an antibacterial drug. It contains a clavulanate.
