Carvacrol is highly disruptive against coagulase-negative staphylococci in in vitro biofilms

Aim: To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of carvacrol against stationary-phase planktonic and biofilm cells of coagulase-negative staphylococci and comparison to traditional antistaphylococcal antibiotics. MATERIALS & METHODS: The antimicrobial effect of carvacrol and antibiotics against plan...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gaio, Vânia Silva (author)
Other Authors: Lima, Cláudia Sofia Afonso de (author), Oliveira, Fernando Eduardo Freitas (author), França, Ângela Maria Oliveira Sousa (author), Cerca, Nuno (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1822/54614
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt:1822/54614
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Summary:Aim: To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of carvacrol against stationary-phase planktonic and biofilm cells of coagulase-negative staphylococci and comparison to traditional antistaphylococcal antibiotics. MATERIALS & METHODS: The antimicrobial effect of carvacrol and antibiotics against planktonic and biofilm cells were assessed through quantification of the number of culturable and/or viable cells. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to evaluate the effect of carvacrol on the biofilm structure. RESULTS: A concentration of 4 mM of carvacrol demonstrated a potent antimicrobial effect, vastly superior than ciprofloxacin, rifampicin, gentamicin and vancomycin, both in planktonic and biofilm cells. CONCLUSION: Carvacrol is a potential antimicrobial agent, which applicability for the prevention and/or treatment of coagulase-negative staphylococci biofilm-associated infections is worthwhile investigating in more detail.