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Essential oils against multidrug resistant gram-negative bacteria

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Abstract

Multi-drug resistant uropathogens are responsible for urinary tract infections. The antibacterial activity of seven essential oils, oregano, thyme, clove, arborvitae, cassia, lemongrass, tea tree) was investigated by agar diffusion method, followed by determination of minimum inhibitory (MIC) and bactericidal (MBC) concentrations against five multidrug resistant isolates namely Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloaceae, Morganella morganii, Proteus mirabilis. Oregano, thyme, cassia had antibacterial activity with inhibition zones ranging 25–39 mm; clove, arborvitae, tea tree and lemongrass 12–15 mm. The essential oils showed antibacterial activities with MICs ranged from 0.005% (w/v) to 0.5% (w/v). Thyme had the same MIC and MBC on all strains. The effects of the vapors of the essential oils were also tested by placing the oils on the underside of the Petri dish lid. Thyme, oregano and cassia essential oils strongly inhibited the growth of the clinical strains of bacteria tested in vapor phase. This study demonstrates the potential of investigated essential oils as natural alternatives for further application in hospital therapies in order to retard or inhibit the bacterial growth. For the first time antibacterial effects of essential oils (clove, arborvitae, tea tree, lemongrass, and cassia) were evaluated against Enterobacter cloaceae and Morganella morganii clinical isolates.

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Abbreviations

MIC:

Minimum inhibitory concentration

MBC:

Minimum bactericidal concentration

EOs:

Essential oils

MDR:

Multi-drug resistant

UTIs:

Urinary tract infections

OR:

Oregano

TY:

Thyme

TT:

Tea tree

CA:

Cassia

LG:

Lemongrass

CL:

Clove

AR:

Arborvitae

GC/MS:

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

MHB:

Mueller Hinton broth

CEF:

Cefuroxime

CTX:

Cefotaxime

CAZ:

Ceftazidime

CPM:

Cefepime

SUB:

Sulbactam

AMP:

Ampicillin

AMS:

Ampicillin + sulbactam

TIG:

Tigecykline

TET:

Tetracycline

CLM:

Clotrimazole

CIP:

Ciprofloxacin

COL:

Colistin

GEN:

Gentamycin

TOB:

Tobramycin

AMI:

Amikacin

ETP:

Ertapenem

MRP:

Propenem

CFZ:

Cefazolin

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. Hana Drahovská (Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Comenius University, Bratislava) for providing bacterial strains. This study was funded by VEGA projects no. 2/0061/17 “Innovative disinfection strategies: the essential oils effect on microflora and materials of cultural heritage objects”.

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Correspondence to Domenico Pangallo.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Bučková, M., Puškárová, A., Kalászová, V. et al. Essential oils against multidrug resistant gram-negative bacteria. Biologia 73, 803–808 (2018). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-018-0090-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-018-0090-x

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