AUTHOR=Diniz Roseana Muniz , Fernandes Tatiany Gomes Ferreira , Mendonça Juliana Silva Pereira , Silva Lucas dos Santos , Saminez Warlison Felipe de Silva , Oliveira Patrícia Vieira de , Amorim Erika Alves Da Fonseca , Figueiredo Cristiane Santos Silva e Silva , Bezerra Filho Clovis Macêdo , Correia Maria Tereza dos Santos , Silva Márcia Vanusa da , Sá Sousa Joicy Cortez de , Zagmignan Adrielle , Nascimento da Silva Luís Cláudio 

TITLE=Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects of Eugenia brejoensis essential oil in mice wounds infected by Staphylococcus aureus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.999131

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2022.999131

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Eugenia brejoensis</italic> Mazine (Myrtaceae) is source of an essential oil (EbEO) with anti-infective activities against <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic>. This study evaluated the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory potentials of EbEO in <italic>S. aureus</italic>-infected skin wounds. The excisional lesions (64 mm<sup>2</sup>) were induced on Swiss mice back (6 to 8-week-old) that were allocated into 3 groups (<italic>n = 12</italic>): 1) non-infected wounds (CON); 2) wounds infected with <italic>S. aureus</italic> ATCC 6538 (Sa); 3) <italic>S. aureus</italic>-infected wounds and treated with EbEO (Sa + EbEO). The infected groups received approximately 10<sup>4</sup> CFU/wound. The animals were treated with EbEO (10 µg/wound/day) or vehicle from the 1-day post-infection (dpi) until the 10th dpi. The clinical parameters (wound area, presence of exudate, edema intensity, etc.) were daily analyzed. The levels of inflammatory mediators (cytokines, nitric oxide, VEGF) and bacterial load were measured at the cutaneous tissue at 4th dpi and 10th dpi. Topical application of EbEO accelerated wound contraction with an average contraction of 83.48 ± 11.27 % of the lesion area until 6th dpi. In this period, the rates of lesion contraction were 54.28 ± 5.57% and 34.5 ± 2.67% for CON and Sa groups, respectively. The positive effects of EbEO on wound contraction were associated with significantly (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05) reduction on bacterial load and the release of inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-17A, TNF-α, NO and VEGF). Taken together, these data confirm the antimicrobial potential of EbEO and provide insights into its anti-inflammatory effects, making this essential oil an interesting candidate for the development of new therapeutic alternatives for infected cutaneous wounds.</p>