Chemical Composition, Antipathogenic and Cytotoxic Activity of the Essential Oil Extracted from <i>Amorpha fruticosa</i> Fruits
Ioana Cristina Marinas,
Eliza Oprea,
Mihaela Buleandra,
Irinel Adriana Badea,
Bianca Maria Tihauan,
Luminita Marutescu,
Marin Angheloiu,
Elena Matei,
Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc
Affiliations
Ioana Cristina Marinas
Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest-ICUB, University of Bucharest, 90-92 Panduri Street, 050663 Bucharest, Romania
Eliza Oprea
Department of Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Catalysis, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest, 90-92 Panduri Street, 050663 Bucharest, Romania
Mihaela Buleandra
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest, 90-92 Panduri Street, 050663 Bucharest, Romania
Irinel Adriana Badea
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest, 90-92 Panduri Street, 050663 Bucharest, Romania
Bianca Maria Tihauan
Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest-ICUB, University of Bucharest, 90-92 Panduri Street, 050663 Bucharest, Romania
Luminita Marutescu
Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest-ICUB, University of Bucharest, 90-92 Panduri Street, 050663 Bucharest, Romania
Marin Angheloiu
National Institute of Research & Development for Food Bioresources—IBA Bucharest, 5th Ancuta Baneasa Street, 020323 Bucharest, Romania
Elena Matei
National Institute of Materials Physics–Magurele, 405A Atomistilor Street, 077125 Măgurele, Romania
Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc
Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of the University of Bucharest-ICUB, University of Bucharest, 90-92 Panduri Street, 050663 Bucharest, Romania
The purpose of this paper was to characterize and investigate the antimicrobial potential of Amorpha fruticosa fruits essential oil (EO). The EO was extracted by hydrodistillation, analyzed by GC-MS, and then evaluated for its interaction with microbial and mammalian cells. The antimicrobial activity was assessed against bacterial and fungal strains, in a planktonic and adherent growth state, using qualitative and quantitative assays. The main components identified in A. fruticosa fruits EO were δ-cadinene, γ-muurolene, and α-muurolene. The Gram-positive strains proved to be more susceptible than Gram-negative bacteria and fungal strains. The EO exhibited good antibiofilm activity, inhibiting the microbial adherence to the inert (96-well plates and Foley catheter section) and cellular substrata. The flow cytometry analysis revealed as one of the possible mechanisms of antimicrobial action the alteration of cell membrane hydrophobicity. The cytotoxicity on the L929 cell line occurred at concentrations higher than 0.3 mg/mL. Taken together, our results demonstrate that A. fruticosa fruits EO contains active compounds with selective inhibitory effect on different microbial strains in planktonic and biofilm growth state, explained at least partially by the interference with microbial membranes due to their hydrophobic character.
