Antibiotic-Potentiating Activity of the ISchinus terebinthifolius/I Raddi Essential Oil against MDR Bacterial Strains

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 8
• Main Authors: Costa da Silva, Maria Milene, Bezerra de Araújo Neto, José, Lucas dos Santos, Antonia Thassya, de Morais Oliveira-Tintino, Cícera Datiane, de Araújo, Ana Carolina Justino, Freitas, Priscilla Ramos, da Silva, Luiz Everson, do Amaral, Wanderlei, Deschamps, Cícero, de Azevedo, Francisco Roberto, Gonçalves Lima, Clara Mariana, Golubkina, Nadezhda, Calixto-Júnior, João Tavares, Ribeiro-Filho, Jaime, Coutinho, Henrique Douglas Melo, Caruso, Gianluca, Tintino, Saulo Relison
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01-04-2023
• Subjects: Bacterial infections; Care and treatment; Drug resistance in microorganisms; Endocarditis; Essences and essential oils; Gastrointestinal diseases; Genetic aspects; Health aspects; Infection; Methicillin; Pharmacology, Experimental; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus infections; Testing; Brazil
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants12081587

Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus are the primary bacteria that cause clinical infections, such as urinary and intestinal infections, pneumonia, endocarditis, and sepsis. Bacterial resistance is an innate natural occurrence in microorganisms, resulting from mutations or the lateral exchange of genetic material. This serves as evidence for the association between drug consumption and pathogen resistance. Evidence has demonstrated that the association between conventional antibiotics and natural products is a promising pharmacological strategy to overcome resistance mechanisms. Considering the large body of research demonstrating the significant antimicrobial activities of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, the present study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition and antibiotic-enhancing effects of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi essential oil (STEO) against the standard and multidrug-resistant strains of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. The STEO was extracted by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type vacuum rotary evaporator. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the STEO was assessed by the microdilution method to evaluate the antibacterial activity. The antibiotic-enhancing activity of the essential oil was assessed by determining the MIC of antibiotics in the presence of a sub-inhibitory concentration (MIC/8) of the natural product. The GC-MS analysis revealed alpha-pinene (24.3%), gamma-muurolene (16.6%), and myrcene (13.7%) as major constituents of the STEO. The STEO potentiated the enhanced antibacterial activity of norfloxacin and gentamicin against all the strains and increased the action of penicillin against the Gram-negative strains. Therefore, it is concluded that although the STEO does not exhibit clinically effective antibacterial activity, its association with conventional antibiotics results in enhanced antibiotic activity.