Medical Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of Rose Oil on Some Standard Bacteria Strains and Clinical Isolates.

Introduction: Considerable interest has developed concerning the alternative utilization of aromatic plants rich in essential oils as antibacterial agents in the medical arena. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial activity for solutions of different concentrations of rose oil on test microorganisms known to potentially have an adverse affect on human health and the environment.

Methods: Research was carried out by the microdilution method. The test microorganisms were standard strains and clinical isolates (CIs) of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 17978, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Streptococcus pneumonia ATCC 49619.

Results: E coli was inhibited by a minimal concentration of 125 µl/ml rose oil dilution of both the standard strain and CI, B subtilis by a minimal concentration of 15.62 µl/ml and 31.25 µl/ml rose oil dilutions of the standard strain and CI, respectively, and S aureus by a minimal concentration of 31.25 µl/ml and 125 µl/ml of rose oil dilutions standard strain and CI, respectively. Thus, it was determined that rose oil could exhibit antimicrobial activity in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Discussion/conclusions: Different percentages of diluted solutions of rose oil might be used as a preventive and therapeutic treatment for infections caused by E coli, B subtilis, and S aureus, provided that this is supported by evidence from clinical trials. Consequently, natural antimicrobial rose oil may have beneficial effects on human and environmental health.