Combination of sweet orange, lentisk and lemon eucalyptus essential oils: Optimization of a new complete antimicrobial formulation using a mixture design methodology
Samiah Hamad Al-Mijalli,
Mohamed Jeddi,
Naoufal El Hachlafi,
Emad M. Abdallah,
Hamza Assaggaf,
Ahmed Qasem,
Bodour S. Rajab,
Learn-Han Lee,
Abdelhakim Bouyahya,
Khang Wen Goh,
Long Chiau Ming,
Hanae Naceiri Mrabti
Affiliations
Samiah Hamad Al-Mijalli
Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Jeddi
Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology and Bioactive Molecules, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies Faculty, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, P.O. Box 2202, Imouzzer Road, Fez, Morocco
Naoufal El Hachlafi
Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology and Bioactive Molecules, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies Faculty, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, P.O. Box 2202, Imouzzer Road, Fez, Morocco
Emad M. Abdallah
Department of Science Laboratories, College of Science and Arts, Qassim University, Ar Rass 51921, Saudi Arabia
Hamza Assaggaf
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Qasem
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
Bodour S. Rajab
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
Learn-Han Lee
Sunway Microbiomics Centre, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Sunway City 47500, Malaysia; Novel Bacteria and Drug Discovery Research Group (NBDD), Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS), Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Sunway City, Malaysia; Corresponding author. Sunway Microbiomics Centre, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Sunway City 47500, Malaysia.
Abdelhakim Bouyahya
Laboratory of Human Pathologies Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, 10106, Morocco; Corresponding author.
Khang Wen Goh
Faculty of Data Science and Information Technology, INTI International University, 71800 Nilai, Malaysia
Long Chiau Ming
School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Sunway City 47500, Malaysia; Corresponding author.
Hanae Naceiri Mrabti
Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Bio Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Analysis Research Team, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco; High Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco
Sweet orange (Citrus × sinensis (L.) Osbeck), lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus L.) and lemon eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora Hook) are medicinal plants known by its culinary virtues. Their volatile oils have demonstrated promising antimicrobial activity against a panel of microbial strains, including those implicated in food deterioration. In this exploratory investigation, we aimed to determine the antimicrobial formulation of sweet orange, lentisk and lemon eucalyptus essential oils (EOs) using the simplex–centroid mixture design approach coupled with a broth microdilution method. EOs were first extracted by hydrodistillation, and then their phytochemical profile was characterized using Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-MS analysis identified d-limonene (14.27%), careen-3 (14.11%), β-myrcene (12.53%) as main components of lentisk EOs, while lemon eucalyptus was dominated by citronellal (39.40%), β-citronellol (16.39%) and 1,8-cineole (9.22%). For sweet orange EOs, d-limonene (87.22%) was the principal compound. The three EOs exhibited promising antimicrobial potential against various microorganisms. Lemon eucalyptus and sweet orange EO showed high activity against most tested microorganisms, while lentisk EO exerted important effect against some microbes but only moderate activity against others. The optimization formulations of antimicrobial potential showed interesting synergistic effects between three EOs. The best combinations predicted on C. albicans, S. aureus, E. coli, S. enterica and B. cereus correspond to 44%/55%/0%, 54%/16%/28%, 43%/22%/33%, 45%/17%/36% and 36%/30%/32% of Citrus sinensis, Pistacia lentiscus and Eucalyptus citriodora EOs, respectively. These findings suggest that the combination of EOs could be used as natural food preservatives and antimicrobial agents. However, further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms of action and efficacy of these EOs against different microorganisms.
