Exploring the potential of essential oils as anti-biofilm agents: a review on inhibition of Salmonella typhi biofilm formation

ABSTRACT

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi is a rod-shaped, Gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium. Every year, millions of people die due to typhoid fever, while the rest suffer from chronic disease. The cause of chronic disease is the formation of biofilms by typhoid bacteria. Biofilms provide resistance to various environmental stressors and anti-microbial agents. These biofilms are difficult to remove by commonly available antimicrobial agents because of their high tolerance to conventional methods of eradication and increasing antibiotic resistance. Therefore, alternative agents, such as medicinal plants, that can inhibit or eradicate biofilm attachment, maturation and dispersion need to be evaluated effectively as potential anti-biofilm agents. This review evaluates the role of plant oil extracts in inhibiting biofilm formation by Salmonella Typhi. This review demonstrates that plant essential oils have a great future in developing antimicrobial therapeutic drugs against microbial and biofilm-forming infections.

KEYWORDS:

• Staphylococcus enterica serovar Typhi
• typhoid
• biofilms
• essential oils
• Allium sativum
• Syzygium aromaticum
• Cuminum cyminum
• Cymbopogon citratus
• Lippia alba
• Rosemarinus officinalis L.
• Thymus vulgaris
• Melaleuca alternifolia

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article.