Individual Constituents from Essential Oils Inhibit Biofilm Mass Production by Multi-Drug Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Molecules

Laura Espina¹  Rafael Pagán¹  Daniel López²  Diego Garc໚-Gonzalo¹ 

[1] Tecnología de los Alimentos, Departamento de Producción Animal y Ciencia de los Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50013, Spain; E-Mails:;Research Centre for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), University of Würzburg, Würzburg 97080, Germany; E-Mail:

关键词: biofilms;    Staphylococcus aureus;    carvacrol;    citral;    (+)-limonene;    essential oils;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules200611357

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus represents a problem in both the medical field and the food industry, because the biofilm structure provides protection to embedded cells and it strongly attaches to surfaces. This circumstance is leading to many research programs seeking new alternatives to control biofilm formation by this pathogen. In this study we show that a potent inhibition of biofilm mass production can be achieved in community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive strains using plant compounds, such as individual constituents (ICs) of essential oils (carvacrol, citral, and (+)-limonene). The Crystal Violet staining technique was used to evaluate biofilm mass formation during 40 h of incubation. Carvacrol is the most effective IC, abrogating biofilm formation in all strains tested, while CA-MRSA was the most sensitive phenotype to any of the ICs tested. Inhibition of planktonic cells by ICs during initial growth stages could partially explain the inhibition of biofilm formation. Overall, our results show the potential of EOs to prevent biofilm formation, especially in strains that exhibit resistance to other antimicrobials. As these compounds are food additives generally recognized as safe, their anti-biofilm properties may lead to important new applications, such as sanitizers, in the food industry or in clinical settings.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.