ABSTRACT
In the present study, the antimicrobial activity of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) against Staphylococcus aureus, and its influence on the production of S. aureus alpha-haemolysin (Hla) were investigated, along with the in vivo activity of GA against S. aureus-induced pneumonia. GA could not inhibit the growth of S. aureus, but the secretion of Hla by S. aureus was significantly inhibited by low concentrations of GA in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, in vivo data show that GA provides protection against staphylococcal pneumonia in a murine model system.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Glycyrrhetinic Acid/pharmacology , Pneumonia, Bacterial/prevention & control , Staphylococcal Infections/microbiology , Staphylococcal Infections/prevention & control , Animals , Cell Line, Tumor , Humans , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Molecular Structure , Pneumonia, Bacterial/microbiology , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Staphylococcus aureusABSTRACT
The present study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of peppermint oil against Staphylococcus aureus, and further investigate the influence of peppermint oil on S. aureus virulence-related exoprotein production. The data show that peppermint oil, which contained high contents of menthone, isomenthone, neomenthol, menthol, and menthyl acetate, was active against S. aureus with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 64-256 µg/mL, and the production of S. aureus exotoxins was decreased by subinhibitory concentrations of peppermint oil in a dose-dependent manner. The findings suggest that peppermint oil may potentially be used to aid in the treatment of S. aureus infections.