title: Activity of Six Essential Oils Extracted from Tunisian Plants against Legionella pneumophila.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the composition of six essential oils extracted from Tunisian plants, i.e., Artemisia herba-alba Asso, Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, Juniperus phoenicea L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Ruta graveolens L., and Thymus vulgaris L., and to evaluate their activity against Legionella pneumophila (microdilution assays). Eight Legionella pneumophila strains were studied, including the two well-known serogroup 1 Lens and Paris strains as controls and six environmental strains isolated from Tunisian spas belonging to serogroups 1, 4, 5, 6, and 8. The essential oils were generally active against L. pneumophila. The activities of the A. herba-alba, C. sinensis, and R. officinalis essential oils were strain-dependent, whereas those of the J. phoenicea and T. vulgaris oils, showing the highest anti-Legionella activities, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) lower than 0.03 and lower than or equal to 0.07 mg/ml, respectively, were independent of the strains' serogroup. Moreover, the microorganisms treated with T. vulgaris essential oil were shorter, swollen, and less electron-dense compared to the untreated controls. Isoborneol (20.91%), (1S)-α-pinene (18.30%) β-phellandrene (8.08%), α-campholenal (7.91%), and α-phellandrene (7.58%) were the major components isolated from the J. phoenicea oil, while carvacrol (88.50%) was the main compound of the T. vulgaris oil, followed by p-cymene (7.86%). This study highlighted the potential interest of some essential oils extracted from Tunisian plants as biocides to prevent the Legionella risk.
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers, EBI, UMR CNRS 7267, Bât. D1, 6 rue de la Milétrie, TSA 51115, FR-86073 Poitiers (phone: +33-2-35146454). nawelchaftar@yahoo.fr.|Faculté de Médecine, UR08 - 45, Département de Biochimie, Avenue Mohamed Karoui, 4002 Sousse, Tunisie. nawelchaftar@yahoo.fr.|Université de Rouen, LMSM - EA 4312, UFR des Sciences et Techniques, FR-76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan (current address). nawelchaftar@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Naouel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chaftar
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers, EBI, UMR CNRS 7267, Bât. D1, 6 rue de la Milétrie, TSA 51115, FR-86073 Poitiers (phone: +33-2-35146454).
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Girardot
authors.affiliation: CHU de Poitiers, Service de Microscopie, 2 rue de la Milétrie, FR-86021 Poitiers.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Quellard
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers, IC2 MP, UMR CNRS 7285, 4 rue Michel Brunet, FR-86022 Poitiers.
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Labanowski
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine, UR08 - 45, Département de Biochimie, Avenue Mohamed Karoui, 4002 Sousse, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Tawfik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ghrairi
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine, UR08 - 45, Département de Biochimie, Avenue Mohamed Karoui, 4002 Sousse, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hani
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers, EBI, UMR CNRS 7267, Bât. D1, 6 rue de la Milétrie, TSA 51115, FR-86073 Poitiers (phone: +33-2-35146454).
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frère
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers, EBI, UMR CNRS 7267, Bât. D1, 6 rue de la Milétrie, TSA 51115, FR-86073 Poitiers (phone: +33-2-35146454).
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Imbert
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019306:Artemisia / Q000737:chemistry; D032084:Citrus sinensis / Q000737:chemistry; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018653:Juniperus / Q000737:chemistry; D016952:Legionella pneumophila / Q000187:drug effects*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D027542:Rosmarinus / Q000737:chemistry; D032105:Ruta / Q000737:chemistry; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D046930:Thymus Plant / Q000737:chemistry; D014416:Tunisia
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils
keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Artemisia herba-alba; Citrus sinensis; Essential oil; GC/MS Analysis; Juniperus phoenicea; Legionella pneumophila; Rosmarinus officinalis; Ruta graveolens; Thymus vulgaris; Water pathogen