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. 2022 Feb 17;11(4):540.
doi: 10.3390/plants11040540.

Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and Anti-Quorum Sensing Activities of Pimenta dioica L. Essential Oil and Its Major Compound (Eugenol) against Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria

Ayshah Aysh ALrashidi  1 , Emira Noumi  1   2 , Mejdi Snoussi  1   3 , Vincenzo De Feo  4
Affiliations

Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and Anti-Quorum Sensing Activities of Pimenta dioica L. Essential Oil and Its Major Compound (Eugenol) against Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria

Ayshah Aysh ALrashidi et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

The Pimenta dioica essential oil and its main compound (eugenol) were tested for their antibacterial potency against eight Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria implicated in food intoxication. This essential oil and its main component were evaluated for their ability in inhibiting Quorum sensing (QS)-dependent mechanisms such as motility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, production of violacein by Chromobacterium violaceum and biofilm formation on stainless steel and glass surfaces. Our results demonstrated that P. dioica essential oil and eugenol were active against all tested strains with a maximum of inhibition against Listeria monocytogenes CECT 933 (26.66 ± 0.57 mm). The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of the tested essential oil and eugenol was about 0.048 mg/mL for all strains. The obtained results demonstrated that 4CMI eugenol inhibited foodborne strains biofilm formation on the glass strips by 73.79% and by 75.90% on polystyrene. Moreover, 0.048 mg/mL (MIC) of P. dioica essential oil inhibited the violacein production by 69.30%. At 100 µg/mL, P. dioica oil and eugenol affected the motility of PAO1 by 42.00% and 29.17%, respectively. Low concentrations of P. dioica essential oil are active against the quorum sensing phenomena and biofilm potency. Thus, this essential oil could be further investigated for new molecules useful for the treatment of toxi-alimentary infections.

Keywords: Pimenta dioica; anti-quorum sensing; biofilm; eugenol; foodborne pathogens; violacein.

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Conflict of interest statement

There is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of the main compounds identified in P. dioica essential oil by GC-MS technique: (a) eugenol, (b) β-pinene, (c) 2-Propenylphenol, (d) linalool and (e) limonene.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Different morphotypes of foodborne pathogenic strains cultivated on CRA: (a) negative morphotype, (b) and (c): positive morphotype.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Adhesive properties on glass tube using safranin staining: (a) Strong adhesion (+++); (b) Moderate adhesion (++); (c) Low adhesion (+).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Adhesion of the selected strains to different materials (Polyvinyl chloride PVC, glass and stainless steel).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of different MIC values of P. dioica essential oil and eugenol on violacein inhibition (qualitative method with C. violaceum ATCC 12472).
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