Comparative Study of Antibacterial, Antibiofilm, Antiswarming and Antiquorum Sensing Activities of Essential Oil and Terpinene-4-ol against Pathogenic Bacteria.

Essential oils from aromatic and medicinal plants have many bioactive compounds known for their important biological activities mainly their antibacterial effects. Here we evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively the biofilm formation capability of pathogenic bacterial strains (n = 8). Then, we investigated the antibacterial, antibiofilm, antiquorum-sensing, and antiswarming efficacy of essential oil (EO) and terpinene-4-ol. Our results revealed that EO exhibited a more potent inhibitory effect against the tested strains. While the terpinene-4-ol was found to be more effective against developed biofilm. Regarding the anti quorum-sensing activity, we noticed that displayed better inhibition percentages in violacein production even at a low concentration (MIC/4). Additionally, this EO showed better inhibition of PAO1 migration in comparison with the terpinene-4-ol. Our findings revealed that using pure EO demonstrated better competitive effects against pathogenic bacteria with a different mode of action when compared to the terpinene-4-ol. Hence, exploration and development of efficient anti-infection agents from natural resources such as full EOs represent promising tools in anti-infective therapy.