Tabti Soumia, Boukraâ Djamila, Hadjab Widad, Belhadj Oussama K, Khelef Yahia, Truchado Pilar, Martínez-Alcalá Isabel, Erenler Ramazan, Sami Rokayya, Alyamani Amal, Alsulaimani Fayez, Basri Ahmed M, Kadi Roqayah H, Alnajeebi Afnan M
Clin Lab. 2025 Aug 1;71(8). doi: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2025.250461.
Owing to the worldwide issues of resistance to antibiotics and the role of quorum sensing in the regulation and development of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) virulence factors, scientific communities explore alternatives to drugs, such as medicinal plants' essential oils. This study was performed to evaluate the antivirulence, biofilm retardation, and quorum sensing (QS) retarding activities of Schinus molle essential oil (SMEO) against the pathogenic S. aureus and its Agr mutant strains and evaluate the antiquorum activity of S. molle EO compounds.
The chemical composition of SMEO was measured using the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) approaches. Antimicrobial activity was studied using agar disc diffusion.
Notably, the results revealed 20 compounds with limonene (35.82%) and α-phellandrene (19.13%) dominant constituents. The antibacterial effects were assessed via the agar dilution method, while anti-QS activity was examined using Chromobacterium violaceum CECT 494. Remarkably, the SMEO exhibited strong bactericidal potentials, effectively destroying the bacterial cells within 24 hours duration with inhibition zones reaching up to (34.33 ± 0.1 mm). Additionally, the SMEO inhibited staphyloxanthin formation, exopolysaccharide (EPS), and biofilm formation with significant reduction up to 96.27%, 93.78%, and 92.87%, respectively. Likewise, slime production and motility were highly affected by SMEO. These were done with extraordinary declines witnessed in a concentration-dependent pattern. Furthermore, the molecular docking analysis affirmed strong collaborations be-tween the SMEO constituents and the AgrA and thereby supporting its antivirulence capability.
Findings obtained from this study highlighted the promising prospects of SMEO as a potent natural compound in mitigating S. aureus virulence and biofilm formations, indicating its potential use as an alternative treatment to antibiotics.
由于全球范围内抗生素耐药问题以及群体感应在细菌（金黄色葡萄球菌）毒力因子调控和发展中的作用，科学界正在探索药物的替代物，如药用植物精油。本研究旨在评估秘鲁香脂精油（SMEO）对致病性金黄色葡萄球菌及其Agr突变株的抗毒力、生物膜抑制和群体感应（QS）抑制活性，并评估秘鲁香脂精油化合物的群体感应抑制活性。
采用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）和气相色谱-质谱联用（GC-MS）方法测定SMEO的化学成分。使用琼脂平板扩散法研究抗菌活性。
值得注意的是，结果显示有20种化合物，其中柠檬烯（35.82%）和α-水芹烯（19.13%）为主要成分。通过琼脂稀释法评估抗菌效果，使用紫色杆菌CECT 494检测抗群体感应活性。值得注意的是，SMEO表现出强大的杀菌潜力，在24小时内有效破坏细菌细胞，抑菌圈直径可达（34.33±0.1毫米）。此外，SMEO抑制了金黄色葡萄球菌黄素的形成、胞外多糖（EPS）和生物膜的形成，分别显著降低了96.27%、93.78%和92.87%。同样，黏液产生和运动性也受到SMEO的高度影响。这些都是以浓度依赖性模式出现的显著下降。此外，分子对接分析证实了SMEO成分与AgrA之间有很强的协同作用，从而支持了其抗毒力能力。
本研究结果突出了SMEO作为一种有效的天然化合物在减轻金黄色葡萄球菌毒力和生物膜形成方面的广阔前景，表明其作为抗生素替代治疗的潜在用途。
