title: Individual Constituents from Essential Oils Inhibit Biofilm Mass Production by Multi-Drug Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Tecnología de los Alimentos, Departamento de Producción Animal y Ciencia de los Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50013, Spain. espina@unizar.es.|Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA, Zaragoza 50013, Spain. espina@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Espina
authors.affiliation: Tecnología de los Alimentos, Departamento de Producción Animal y Ciencia de los Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50013, Spain. pagan@unizar.es.|Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA, Zaragoza 50013, Spain. pagan@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pagán
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), University of Würzburg, Würzburg 97080, Germany. daniel.lopez@uni-wuerzburg.de.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: López
authors.affiliation: Tecnología de los Alimentos, Departamento de Producción Animal y Ciencia de los Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50013, Spain. Diego.Garcia@unizar.es.|Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA, Zaragoza 50013, Spain. Diego.Garcia@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: García-Gonzalo
mesh_terms: D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D053138:Cyclohexenes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D000081007:Cymenes; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D000077222:Limonene; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*; D039821:Monoterpenes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D013729:Terpenes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D053138:Cyclohexenes; D000081007:Cymenes; D039821:Monoterpenes; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D013729:Terpenes; C073316:carvacrol; D000077222:Limonene; C007076:citral
keywords: (+)-limonene; Staphylococcus aureus; biofilms; carvacrol; citral; essential oils