Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Nov;24(7):1458-1464.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.06.001. Epub 2016 Jun 13.

Biological activity of Cymbopogon schoenanthus essential oil

Gasal M Hashim  1 , Saad B Almasaudi  2 , Esam Azhar  1   3 , Soad K Al Jaouni  4 , Steve Harakeh  1
Affiliations

Biological activity of Cymbopogon schoenanthus essential oil

Gasal M Hashim et al. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

Introduction: A number of plant species, including Cymbopogon schoenanthus, are traditionally used for the treatment of various diseases. C. schoenanthus is currently, traded in the Saudi markets, and thought to have medicinal value. This study aimed at investigating the biological activities of C. schoenanthus against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and to identify its chemical ingredients.

Materials and methods: The inhibitory effects of water extracts of C. schoenanthus essential oils were evaluated against ten isolates of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria using the agar well diffusion and dilution methods. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was assayed using the Broth microdilution test on five of the ten isolates. The death rates were determined by the time kill assay, done according to the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. The chemical composition of the essential oils of the plant was performed using GC/MS.

Results: The C. schoenanthus essential oil was effective against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-sensitive (MSSA) S. aureus (MRSA) and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The essential oil was not effective against Staphylococcus saprophyticus at the highest concentration applied of >150 μg/ml. The MIC values were as follows: 9.37 μg/ml for E. coli 4.69 μg/ml for S. aureus (MRSA), 2.34 mg/ml for MSSA and 2.34 μg/ml for K. pneumoniae. The time-kill assay indicated that there was a sharp time dependent decline in K. pneumoniae counts in the presence of the oil. This is in contrast to a gradual decline in the case of S. aureus under the same conditions. The eight major components of the essential oil were: piperitone (14.6%), cyclohexanemethanol (11.6%), β-elemene (11.6%), α-eudesmol (11.5%), elemol (10.8%), β-eudesmol (8.5%), 2-naphthalenemethanol (7.1%) and γ-eudesmol (4.2%).

Conclusion: The results of the present study provide a scientific validation for the traditional use of C. schoenanthus as an antibacterial agent. Future work is needed to investigate and explore its application in the environmental and medical fields. In addition, to evaluating the efficacy of the individual ingredients separately to better understand the underlying mechanism.

Keywords: Bacteria; Cymbopogon schoenanthus; Essential oils; Gram-negative bacteria; Gram-positive.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of Cymbopogon schoenanthus oil on the survival of Staphylococcus aureus in relation to time.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of C. schoenanthus oil on the survival of Klebsiella pneumoniae in relation to time.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Al-Ghamdi S.S., Al-Ghamdi A.A., Shammah A.A. Inhibition of calcium oxalate nephrotoxicity with Cymbopogon schoenanthus (Al-Ethkher) Drug Metab. Lett. 2007;1:241–244. - PubMed
    1. Al Yahya M.A., Al-Meshal I.A., Mossa J.S., Khatibi A., Hammouda Y. Phytochemical and biological screening of Saudi medicinal plants. Part II. Fitoterapia. 1983;54:21–24.
    1. Antonisamy P., Duraipandiyan V., Ignacimuthu S., Kim J.H. Anti-diarrhoeal activity of friedelin isolated from Azima tetracantha Lam. in Wistar rats. South Indian J. Biol. Sci. 2015;1:34–37.
    1. Balamurugan R. Smilax Chinensis Linn. (Liliaceae) root attenuates insulin resistance and ameliorate obesity in high diet induced obese rat. South Indian J. Biol. Sci. 2015;1:47–51.
    1. Kannan Barathi, Agastian P. In vitro regeneration of a rare antidiabetic plant Epaltes divaricata L. South Indian J. Biol. Sci. 2015;1:52–59.

LinkOut - more resources