Evaluation of the Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Cecropin A Natural Peptide on Gram-Negative Bacteria
In an era dominated by the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance, it is increasingly important to look for alternatives to synthetic antibiotics. In light of these considerations, the synergistic use of essential oils and Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) seems a viable strategy. In this study, we assesse...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Filippo Fratini Chiara Pecorini Ilaria Resci Emma Copelotti Francesca Paola Nocera Basma Najar Simone Mancini |
| author_facet | Filippo Fratini Chiara Pecorini Ilaria Resci Emma Copelotti Francesca Paola Nocera Basma Najar Simone Mancini |
| author_sort | Filippo Fratini |
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| description | In an era dominated by the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance, it is increasingly important to look for alternatives to synthetic antibiotics. In light of these considerations, the synergistic use of essential oils and Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) seems a viable strategy. In this study, we assessed the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and Fractional Inhibitory Concentration (FIC) of three Essential Oils (EOs): winter savory (<i>Satureja montana</i>), bergamot (<i>Citrus bergamia</i>) and cinnamon (<i>Cinnamomum zeylanicum</i>) and of the insect antimicrobial peptide Cecropin A (CecA), alone and in combination with EOs, against two Gram-negative ATCC bacterial strains: <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Salmonella enterica</i> serovar Typhimurium. The MIC results showed that winter savory EO (<i>Sm</i>EO) and cinnamon EO (<i>Cz</i>EO) exhibited the strongest antibacterial activity against both bacterial strains, whereas bergamot EO (<i>Cb</i>EO) and CecA demonstrated comparatively lower antibacterial efficacy. These results were also confirmed by the MBC values. The FIC Indices (FICI) revealed that the most effective synergies were observed with the combinations <i>Sm</i>EO/<i>Cz</i>EO and <i>Sm</i>EO/<i>Cb</i>EO against <i>E. coli</i>, while against <i>S. enterica</i> Typhimurium the best combinations were <i>Cb</i>EO/<i>Cz</i>EO and <i>Sm</i>EO/<i>Cz</i>EO. Regarding CecA, although it was not the most efficient agent either individually or in combination, it is noteworthy that, when combined, it exhibited antibacterial activity even at a 1:64 dilution. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f6d5449661344a92b54826ef7f4d57b2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-f6d5449661344a92b54826ef7f4d57b22025-01-24T13:18:25ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-01-0115228210.3390/ani15020282Evaluation of the Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Cecropin A Natural Peptide on Gram-Negative BacteriaFilippo Fratini0Chiara Pecorini1Ilaria Resci2Emma Copelotti3Francesca Paola Nocera4Basma Najar5Simone Mancini6Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Delpino 1, 80137 Naples, ItalyRD3—Pharmacognosy, Bioanalysis & Drug Discovery Unit, Analytical Platform of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Free University of Brussels, Campus Plaine, Blvd Triomphe, CP 205/5, B-1050 Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, ItalyIn an era dominated by the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance, it is increasingly important to look for alternatives to synthetic antibiotics. In light of these considerations, the synergistic use of essential oils and Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) seems a viable strategy. In this study, we assessed the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) and Fractional Inhibitory Concentration (FIC) of three Essential Oils (EOs): winter savory (<i>Satureja montana</i>), bergamot (<i>Citrus bergamia</i>) and cinnamon (<i>Cinnamomum zeylanicum</i>) and of the insect antimicrobial peptide Cecropin A (CecA), alone and in combination with EOs, against two Gram-negative ATCC bacterial strains: <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Salmonella enterica</i> serovar Typhimurium. The MIC results showed that winter savory EO (<i>Sm</i>EO) and cinnamon EO (<i>Cz</i>EO) exhibited the strongest antibacterial activity against both bacterial strains, whereas bergamot EO (<i>Cb</i>EO) and CecA demonstrated comparatively lower antibacterial efficacy. These results were also confirmed by the MBC values. The FIC Indices (FICI) revealed that the most effective synergies were observed with the combinations <i>Sm</i>EO/<i>Cz</i>EO and <i>Sm</i>EO/<i>Cb</i>EO against <i>E. coli</i>, while against <i>S. enterica</i> Typhimurium the best combinations were <i>Cb</i>EO/<i>Cz</i>EO and <i>Sm</i>EO/<i>Cz</i>EO. Regarding CecA, although it was not the most efficient agent either individually or in combination, it is noteworthy that, when combined, it exhibited antibacterial activity even at a 1:64 dilution.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/2/282winter savorycinnamonbergamotCecropin Asynergy |
| spellingShingle | Filippo Fratini Chiara Pecorini Ilaria Resci Emma Copelotti Francesca Paola Nocera Basma Najar Simone Mancini Evaluation of the Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Cecropin A Natural Peptide on Gram-Negative Bacteria Animals winter savory cinnamon bergamot Cecropin A synergy |
| title | Evaluation of the Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Cecropin A Natural Peptide on Gram-Negative Bacteria |
| title_full | Evaluation of the Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Cecropin A Natural Peptide on Gram-Negative Bacteria |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Cecropin A Natural Peptide on Gram-Negative Bacteria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Cecropin A Natural Peptide on Gram-Negative Bacteria |
| title_short | Evaluation of the Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Cecropin A Natural Peptide on Gram-Negative Bacteria |
| title_sort | evaluation of the synergistic antimicrobial activity of essential oils and cecropin a natural peptide on gram negative bacteria |
| topic | winter savory cinnamon bergamot Cecropin A synergy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/2/282 |
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