Assessment of the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of the combination of N-acetyl cysteine and carvacrol against Staphylococcus aureus, the most common orthopedic infectious agent
{"title":"Assessment of the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of the combination of N-acetyl cysteine and carvacrol against Staphylococcus aureus, the most common orthopedic infectious agent","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.micpath.2024.106934","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections has led to the search for new approaches.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>This study aimed to evaluate the effects of carvacrol and N-acetyl cysteine, both individually and in combination, on the planktonic cells and biofilm formations of <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>, including methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive strains. Additionally, the study sought to perform cytotoxicity tests and chemical characterization to further understand the properties and potential applications of these substances.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A total of 19 <em>S. aureus</em> strains were included in the study. Minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined by assays. Synergy analysis tests were carried out. Cytotoxicity tests were conducted on the fibroblast cell line. Characterization test was performed.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>While Minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values for carvacrol varied between 250 and 500 μg/ml, these values were in the range of 32–64 mg/ml for N-acetyl cysteine. Biofilm formation activities were identified. A total of eight strains, including six clinical and two standard strains with the highest biofilm-forming ability, were selected for combination studies. The combination of Carvacrol and N-acetyl cysteine exhibited synergistic and partially synergistic effects on the tested planktonic and biofilm strains, and these effects were dose-dependent. Carvacrol was found to be the most active drug at the end of 24, 48, and 72 h. Regarding the synergistic effect of N-acetyl cysteine + carvacrol, it was revealed to exhibit higher activity than N-acetyl cysteine and lower activity than carvacrol.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The combination of carvacrol and N-acetyl cysteine demonstrated synergistic and partially synergistic effects against both planktonic and biofilm forms of <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>. These results suggest potential for novel approaches in managing orthopedic infections, warranting further research to explore their therapeutic applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":18599,"journal":{"name":"Microbial pathogenesis","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Microbial pathogenesis","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882401024004017","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"IMMUNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections has led to the search for new approaches.
Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of carvacrol and N-acetyl cysteine, both individually and in combination, on the planktonic cells and biofilm formations of Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive strains. Additionally, the study sought to perform cytotoxicity tests and chemical characterization to further understand the properties and potential applications of these substances.
Methods
A total of 19 S. aureus strains were included in the study. Minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined by assays. Synergy analysis tests were carried out. Cytotoxicity tests were conducted on the fibroblast cell line. Characterization test was performed.
Results
While Minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values for carvacrol varied between 250 and 500 μg/ml, these values were in the range of 32–64 mg/ml for N-acetyl cysteine. Biofilm formation activities were identified. A total of eight strains, including six clinical and two standard strains with the highest biofilm-forming ability, were selected for combination studies. The combination of Carvacrol and N-acetyl cysteine exhibited synergistic and partially synergistic effects on the tested planktonic and biofilm strains, and these effects were dose-dependent. Carvacrol was found to be the most active drug at the end of 24, 48, and 72 h. Regarding the synergistic effect of N-acetyl cysteine + carvacrol, it was revealed to exhibit higher activity than N-acetyl cysteine and lower activity than carvacrol.
Conclusion
The combination of carvacrol and N-acetyl cysteine demonstrated synergistic and partially synergistic effects against both planktonic and biofilm forms of Staphylococcus aureus. These results suggest potential for novel approaches in managing orthopedic infections, warranting further research to explore their therapeutic applications.
期刊介绍:
Microbial Pathogenesis publishes original contributions and reviews about the molecular and cellular mechanisms of infectious diseases. It covers microbiology, host-pathogen interaction and immunology related to infectious agents, including bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa. It also accepts papers in the field of clinical microbiology, with the exception of case reports.
Research Areas Include:
-Pathogenesis
-Virulence factors
-Host susceptibility or resistance
-Immune mechanisms
-Identification, cloning and sequencing of relevant genes
-Genetic studies
-Viruses, prokaryotic organisms and protozoa
-Microbiota
-Systems biology related to infectious diseases
-Targets for vaccine design (pre-clinical studies)