Antimicrobial activity of spices essential oils and its effectiveness on mature biofilms of human pathogens.

The antibacterial activity of L., , , and L. essential oils (EOs) against some common pathogenic microorganisms ( ATCC 6538, ATCC 14990, ATCC 29212, ATCC 1915, ATCC 8739, ATCC 27853, ATCC 7966, ATCC 10005, ATCC 13883, and ATCC 10231) and their biofilms was studied. The EOs inhibitory effects were evaluated by both Agar Well Diffusion assay and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) determination. The most active EOs, cinnamon and cloves, were also tested on 18, 24, 48, 72 hours mature biofilms. Cinnamon and cloves exhibited the best results showing a significant activity against all the tested bacteria. Concerning biofilm, results suggest that oil may be a useful approach to impair the biofilm produced by the tested Gram-negative bacteria. [Formula: see text].