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. 2021 Nov 13;14(11):1159.
doi: 10.3390/ph14111159.

Original Contributions to the Chemical Composition, Microbicidal, Virulence-Arresting and Antibiotic-Enhancing Activity of Essential Oils from Four Coniferous Species

Diana-Carolina Visan  1 , Eliza Oprea  2 , Valeria Radulescu  1 , Ion Voiculescu  3 , Iovu-Adrian Biris  3   4 , Ani Ioana Cotar  5 , Crina Saviuc  6   7 , Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc  6   7   8 , Ioana Cristina Marinas  6   7
Affiliations

Original Contributions to the Chemical Composition, Microbicidal, Virulence-Arresting and Antibiotic-Enhancing Activity of Essential Oils from Four Coniferous Species

Diana-Carolina Visan et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). .

Abstract

This study aimed to establish the essential oil (EO) composition from young shoots of Picea abies, Larix decidua, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Pinus nigra harvested from Romania and evaluate their antimicrobial and anti-virulence activity, as well as potential synergies with currently used antibiotics. The samples' EO average content varied between 0.62% and 1.02% (mL/100 g plant). The mono- and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were dominant in the composition of the studied EOs. The antimicrobial activity revealed that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for the tested EOs and some pure compounds known for their antimicrobial activity ranged from 6.25 to 100 µL/mL. The most intensive antimicrobial effect was obtained for the Pinus nigra EO, which exhibited the best synergistic effect with some antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus strains (i.e., oxacillin, tetracycline, erythromycin and gentamycin). The subinhibitory concentrations (sMIC) of the coniferous EOs inhibited the expression of soluble virulence factors (DN-ase, lipase, lecithinase, hemolysins, caseinase and siderophore-like), their efficiency being similar to that of the tested pure compounds, and inhibited the rhl gene expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, suggesting their virulence-arresting drug potential.

Keywords: Larix decidua; Picea abies; Pinus nigra; Pseudotsuga menziesii; antimicrobial activity; essential oil; quorum sensing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chromatogram of the P. abies essential oil.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Estimation plots of the antibacterial activity of the P. abies (a), L. decidua (b), P. menziesii (c) and P. nigra (d) EOs. The Gram-negative–Gram-positive effect size is generated by the difference between means. The precision of the calculated effect size was at a 95% confidence interval.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The QS genes expression levels in P. aeruginosa strains cultivated in the presence of limonene and EOs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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