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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Veterinary and Zoonotic Infection
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1463551
This article is part of the Research Topic Exploring Zoonoses: Therapeutic Strategies and Drug Mechanisms View all 3 articles

Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activities of Star Anise-Cinnamon Essential Oil against Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella Thompson

Provisionally accepted
Jie Zhang Jie Zhang 1,2*Dapei Zhang Dapei Zhang 3Yanhua Chen Yanhua Chen 3*Yongyu Gong Yongyu Gong 3*Binfang Yuan Binfang Yuan 3*Zhiyuan Mo Zhiyuan Mo 3*Haibo Tang Haibo Tang 1,2*Junyu Tao Junyu Tao 1,2*Ziheng Xu Ziheng Xu 3*
  • 1 Guangxi Scientific Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
  • 2 Guangxi Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine for Treating High-incidence Infectious Diseases with Integrative Medicine, Nanning, China
  • 3 School of Public Health and Management, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Naning, Guangx, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The issue of multiple drug resistance (MDR) in food-borne Salmonella is gaining significant attention. Given that food consumption is the primary infection route, Bellamya quadrata, a type of freshwater snail commonly consumed as a specialty food of Guangxi in China, was investigated. Eight MDR Salmonella strains were isolated from Bellamya quadrata samples collected from various markets, with animal experiments confirming their lethality. This study evaluated the antibacterial and anti-biofilm (BF) activities of star anise and cinnamon essential oils (SCEO) against these strains in vitro. Using microdrop plate and checkerboard methods, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index of cinnamon (CEO) and star anise (SAEO) oils were determined. The time-killing curve method assessed SCEO's activity against planktonic MDR Salmonella. Crystal violet staining and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to observe BF changes after SCEO treatment.Quantitative real-time PCR analyzed BF-related gene expression. SAEO's MIC was 25 μL/mL, CEO's 0.62 μL/mL, and their FIC index was 0.375, indicating synergy. Both oils inhibited Salmonella growth, with SCEO being most effective. They suppressed BF production, SAEO more so. SCEO combined both oils' effects. However, an increase in BF-gene expression (csgA, adrA, bcsA, csgD) was observed in SAEO-treated Salmonella, possibly due to stress-induced transcription.The alkaline phosphatase assay revealed SCEO's significant impact on cell wall integrity, suggesting its role in reducing BF formation. SCEO shows potential as an antibiotic alternative, meriting further scientific investigation and development.

    Keywords: ：Salmonella Thompson, star anise-cinnamon essential oil, Antibacterial, Anti-biofilm, Bellamya quadrata

    Received: 12 Jul 2024; Accepted: 26 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Zhang, Chen, Gong, Yuan, Mo, Tang, Tao and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jie Zhang, Guangxi Scientific Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
    Yanhua Chen, School of Public Health and Management, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Naning, 530001, Guangx, China
    Yongyu Gong, School of Public Health and Management, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Naning, 530001, Guangx, China
    Binfang Yuan, School of Public Health and Management, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Naning, 530001, Guangx, China
    Zhiyuan Mo, School of Public Health and Management, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Naning, 530001, Guangx, China
    Haibo Tang, Guangxi Scientific Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
    Junyu Tao, Guangxi Scientific Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
    Ziheng Xu, School of Public Health and Management, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Naning, 530001, Guangx, China

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