title: The inhibitory effect of Zingiber corallinum Hance essential oil on drug-resistant bacteria and evaluation of its acute toxicity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The excessive and irregular use of antibiotics could result in the generation and diffusion of drug-resistant bacteria. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of Zingiber corallinum Hance essential oil (ZCHO) on drug-resistant bacteria, especially on drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.
  
  
  METHODS
  Susceptibility testing was used to evaluate the effect of ZCHO on growth inhibition of drug-resistant bacteria by paper disk method. Mice orally administered with ZCHO were used to observe acute toxicity and to determine median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of ZCHO. Broth dilution method was used to determine minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of ZCHO on drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ZCHO exhibited an obvious inhibitory effect not only on gram-negative drug-resistant bacteria including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae and Acinetobacter baumannii, but also on gram-positive drug-resistant bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus haemolyticus. The ZCHO containing 79% terpinen-4-ol revealed better bacteriostatic effect than ZCHO with 34% terpinen-4-ol. The LD₅₀ of ZCHO was 1790.427 mg/kg. The MIC and MBC of ZCHO on drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii were 1457.81 mg/L.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ZCHO has obvious bacteriostasis and bactericidal effects, especially against drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Therefore, ZCHO is a promising natural bioactive component with antibacterial effect and satisfactory safety due to its low toxicity.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Institute of Surgery Research, Daping Hospital, 3rd Military Medical University, Changjiang Zhilu, Daping, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ce
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Lin-Lin
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hai-Yan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Su-Na
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shi-Lin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Ting-Rong
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yan-Bing
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jian-Xin
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity*; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000187:drug effects; D008517:Phytotherapy; D016019:Survival Analysis; D023382:Toxicity Tests, Acute; D030521:Zingiberaceae / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile