article · AMB Express
Antimicrobial resistance poses a severe challenge, prompting the search for alternative treatments derived from natural sources. This study investigated the combined antibacterial effects of essential oils from moringa, cinnamon, and black seed against Staphylococcus aureus. Using response surface methodology and an L-optimal mixture design, researchers identified an optimal combination of roughly equal parts of all three oils. This specific formulation demonstrated strong synergistic activity, achieving a fractional inhibitory concentration index of 0.27 and drastically lowering minimum inhibitory concentrations compared to each individual oil. The synergistic mixture outperformed conventional antibiotics such as tetracycline in testing. Furthermore, the combination exhibited minimal cytotoxicity, preserving 97.6 percent cell viability in normal human skin fibroblasts over a 24-hour period. Chemical analysis confirmed key active compounds including cinnamaldehyde and linoleic acid underlying these effects.
The rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria threatens standard healthcare by making common bacterial infections harder to treat with conventional antibiotics. Finding non-toxic, plant-based combinations that successfully kill resistant bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus offers a viable strategy for developing alternative treatments, especially when the combined natural oils show both high potency and low toxicity toward human skin cells.
This research could enable the development of topical antibacterial formulations or natural therapeutics targeting resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. Potential users include pharmaceutical developers, wound care product manufacturers, and dermatological companies. Because the work consists of early-stage laboratory testing on bacterial cultures and in vitro human skin fibroblasts, it remains at a preclinical research stage and requires further in vivo safety and efficacy validation before real-world use.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
The urgent need to address the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance in multidrug-resistant bacteria requires the development of pioneering approaches to treatment. The present study aims to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of the essential oils (EOs) of Moringa oleifera (moringa), Cinnamomum verum (cinnamon), and Nigella sativa (black seed) and the synergistic effect of the mixture of these oils against Staphylococcus aureus MCC 1351. Statistical modeling revealed cinnamon oil had the highest individual antimicrobial potency, followed by black seed oil. The combination of the three EOs exhibited significant synergistic effects compared to the individual oils, with a Fractional Inhibitory Concentration (∑FIC) index of 0.27. L-Optimal mixture design of response surface methodology (RSM) identified the optimal mixture as moringa: cinnamon: black seed oils by the ratio of (1:1:1) in run 15 (0.338:0.307:0.355 mL) (v/v). This mixture exhibited significant antibacterial efficacy, outperforming individual oils and conventional antibiotics like tetracycline. Specifically, the combination reduced the MIC values from 3.12, 0.78, and 6.25 to 0.25, 0.06, and 0.78 μg/mL for moringa, cinnamon, and black seed oil, respectively. Synergistic interactions between oils further boosted efficacy, with moringa-cinnamon and cinnamon-black seed pairings exhibiting the strongest synergies. The developed predictive models for IZD and MIC showed excellent fit, with R<sup>2</sup> values of 0.9843 and 0.9958, respectively. Pareto chart analysis highlighted the predominant individual and synergistic effects, with the Moringa-Cinnamon interaction exhibiting the highest positive synergy. Notably, the oil mixture of run 15 demonstrated excellent biocompatibility, maintaining 97.6% viability of normal human skin fibroblasts (HSF) after 24 h exposure to 200 μL EOs of the mixture per mL. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) identified abundant bioactive phytochemicals like cinnamaldehyde, linoleic acid, and palmitic acid methyl esters underlying the observed antimicrobial effects. This rationally designed, synergistic phytochemical combination presents a promising natural therapeutic against antibiotic-resistant S. aureus while exhibiting minimal cytotoxicity. The results underscore how combining essential oils could help address the issue of antibiotic resistance in S. aureus.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1186/s13568-024-01797-y
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
