Abstract
With strong antimicrobial properties, citral has been repeatedly reported to be the dominant component of lemongrass essential oil. Here, we report on a comparison of the antimicrobial and anticancer activity of citral and lemongrass essential oil. The lemongrass essential oil was prepared by the vacuum distillation of fresh Cymbopogon leaves, with a yield of 0.5% (w/w). Citral content was measured by gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) and determined to be 63%. Antimicrobial activity was tested by the broth dilution method, showing strong activity against all tested bacteria and fungi. Citral was up to 100 times more active than the lemongrass essential oil. Similarly, both citral and essential oils inhibited bacterial communication and adhesion during P. aeruginosa and S. aureus biofilm formation; however, the biofilm prevention activity of citral was significantly higher. Both the essential oil and citral disrupted the maturated P. aeruginosa biofilm with the IC50 7.3 ± 0.4 and 0.1 ± 0.01 mL/L, respectively. Although it may seem that the citral is the main biologically active compound of lemongrass essential oil and the accompanying components have instead antagonistic effects, we determined that the lemongrass essential oil-sensitized methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and doxorubicin-resistant ovarian carcinoma cells and that this activity was not caused by citral. A 1 mL/L dose of oil-sensitized MRSA to methicillin up to 9.6 times and a dose of 10 µL/L-sensitized ovarian carcinoma to doxorubicin up to 1.8 times. The mode of multidrug resistance modulation could be due to P-glycoprotein efflux pump inhibition. Therefore, the natural mixture of compounds present in the lemongrass essential oil provides beneficial effects and its direct use may be preferred to its use as a template for citral isolation.
Highlights
Cymbopogon citratus, known as lemongrass, is widely used for its characteristic lemon odor and flavor in the culinary industry [1] as a component of spices
We report on the large spectrum of antimicrobial activities resulting from the chemical composition of lemongrass essential oil
We summarize the spectrum of its antimicrobial activity, taking into account both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and yeasts (Table 1)
Summary
Cymbopogon citratus (monocotyledonous plant belonging to Poaceae family), known as lemongrass, is widely used for its characteristic lemon odor and flavor in the culinary industry [1] as a component of spices. It is used for its curative effects in traditional and alternative medicine in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The main component is always citral (65%–85%), a mixture of isomers of geranial (citral a) and neral (citral b). It contains citronellol, citronellal, limonene, linalool, nerol, etc. Lemongrass in traditional medicine is used for the treatment of colds, influenza, cough, diabetes, malaria [4], high blood pressure, high cholesterol, fever, inflammation, hypertension [5,6], dental hygiene [7], colorectal cancer [8], nervousness, toothache and sore throat [9]
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