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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Introduction: Staphylococcus spp. is one of the most abundant bacterial genera of the human skin microbiome (Joglekar et al. 2023). It comprises commensal microorganisms – Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) – and opportunistic pathogens – Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (Imam and Luqman 2024). Staphylococci-caused diseases are typically treated with antibiotics, but the antimicrobial resistance underscores the need for alternative treatments. Essential oils (EOs) are natural compounds made of terpenes and terpenoid molecules. Their antimicrobial activity targets multiple cellular components, which reduces the likelihood of resistance development (Zuzarte et al. 2011). Objective: To study the antimicrobial activity of three EOs (eucalyptus, lavender, and thyme) on two Staphylococcus species (S. aureus and S. epidermidis). Conclusions: Eucalyptus, lavender, and thyme EOs present antibacterial activity against S. aureus and S. epidermidis. Thyme possesses the lowest MIC; the inhibition curves corroborated this result. The flow cytometry assay showed that all oils were able to damage bacterial cells; thyme oil presented the highest percentages of dead and injured cells. All EOs also showed anti-biofilm activity; thyme presented the highest anti-biofilm activity when compared to eucalyptus and lavender. S. epidermidis is more resistant to the oils than S. aureus.