Abstract:In order to reveal the Hormesis effect of antibiotics on bacterial, the adverse effects of chloramphenicol on the luminescence and cell proliferation (0 to 24 h) of Vibrio fischeri (V.fischeri) were investigated. It was found that an obvious stimulation effect at the low concentration would occur on the luminescence intensity at the lag phase of V.fischeri under the action of chloramphenicol. A possible mechanism hypothesis of the stimulation effect was then proposed, based on the light emitting mechanisms and the quantum chemical parameters calculated by Gaussian 09. It was supposed that because of a higher value of the most positive charge of the H atoms of chloramphenicol than NADH, chloramphenicol could act as proton donors to provide protons which were essential for the light emitting process, instead of NADH, and stimulated the light emitting of the bacteria.