Sensitivity of Pathogenic and Commensal Bacteria From The Human Colon To Essential Oils
Sensitivity of Pathogenic and Commensal Bacteria From The Human Colon To Essential Oils
Sensitivity of Pathogenic and Commensal Bacteria From The Human Colon To Essential Oils
061127-0
The microbiota of the intestinal tract plays an important role in colonic health, mediating many
effects of dietary components on colonic health and during enteric infections. In the context of the
increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance in gut bacteria, complementary therapies are required
for the prevention and treatment of enteric infections. Here we report the potential application of
essential oils (EO) and pure EO compounds to improve human gut health. Nerolidol, thymol,
eugenol and geraniol inhibited growth of the pathogens Escherichia coli O157 : H7(VT”),
Clostridium difficile DSM1296, Clostridium perfringens DSM11780, Salmonella typhimurium
3530 and Salmonella enteritidis S1400 at a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) varying
from 50 to 500 p.p.m. Most EO showed greater toxicity to pathogens than to commensals.
However, the beneficial commensal Faecalibacterium prausnitzii was sensitive to EO at similar or
even lower concentrations than the pathogens. The EO showed dose-dependent effects on cell
integrity, as measured using propidium iodide, of Gram-positive bacteria. These effects were not
strongly correlated with growth inhibition, however, suggesting that cell membrane damage
occurred but was not the primary cause of growth inhibition. Growth inhibition of Gram-negative
bacteria, in contrast, occurred mostly without cell integrity loss. Principal component analysis
showed clustering of responses according to bacterial species rather than to the identity of the
Received 4 June 2012 EO, with the exception that responses to thymol and nerolidol clustered away from the other EO.
Revised 20 July 2012 In conclusion, the selective effects of some EO might have beneficial effects on gut health if
Accepted 8 August 2012 chosen carefully for effectiveness against different species.
(Bif.) adolescentis were lower and Ruminococcus gnavus A 200 ml volume of LB medium, containing 5 % overnight culture as
higher than in healthy relatives. Thus, if EO are to be useful inoculum, was transferred to corresponding wells in triplicate. Positive
control wells contained only 10 ml methanol. Plate control and negative
in promoting gut health in man, their effects on commensal
control wells were set up using sterile water and uninoculated medium,
as well as pathogenic bacteria must be determined. respectively. Plates were sealed with plastic adhesive tape (Fasson S695,
The antimicrobial properties of EO have been demonstrated catalogue no. SH 236269, Nunc) and growth at 37 uC was measured
spectrophotometrically (SpectraMax spectrophotometer, Molecular
against a wide range of food micro-organisms, including Devices Corporation) as OD650 for 24 h at 30 min intervals. All other
bacteria, protozoa and fungi (Burt, 2004). Several studies bacteria were inoculated as a 5 % inoculum in the liquid form of
also found that the most pathogenic gut bacteria, E. coli medium 2 (Hobson, 1969) in Hungate-type tubes containing different
O157 : H7 (Burt & Reinders, 2003; Delaquis et al., 2002), concentrations of EO in methanol. Incubation was carried out at 37 uC
Salmonella typhimurium (Si et al., 2006), Clostridium and growth was measured spectrophotometrically (Novaspec II
perfringens (Ouwehand et al., 2010), Campylobacter jejuni spectrophotometer, Amersham Biosciences) as OD650 at different
incubation times. The methanol concentration was 5 %, which had no
(Anderson et al., 2009) and Helicobacter pylori (Bergonzelli
effect on the growth of the tested bacteria. The calculation of
et al., 2003) are inhibited by EO in vitro. The aim of the percentage growth and percentage inhibition by EO treatment was
present study was to compare the effects of a range of EO based on the growth of positive controls (Sultanbawa et al., 2009):
and EO compounds on human pathogenic and commensal
Percentage growth5(ODtt2ODt0)/(ODct2ODc0)6100
intestinal bacteria. Further studies were undertaken to
explain the nature of the selectivity of EO against different
Percentage inhibition51002percentage growth
bacterial species.
where ODtt is the OD650 of test samples at incubation time t, ODt0
for test samples at time zero (0), ODct is the positive control at
METHODS incubation time t and ODc0 is the positive control at time zero (0).
Chemicals and reagents. The pure oils of clove, coriander and The half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) of EO and EO
curcuma, a commercial blend of EO (‘Agolin’), analytical grade compounds was calculated by linear interpolation of triplicate
eugenol, geraniol, geranylacetate, linalool, methylisoeugenol, neroli- observations:
dol and thymol, and chestnut extract were provided by Agolin SA,
Bière, Switzerland. The test materials were selected on the basis of d5d1+(p2p1)6(d22d1)/(p22p1)
traditional and potential commercial usefulness, on their published
effects on pathogens and their safety. The EO and EO compounds where d is IC50, d1 is a first dose lower than 50 % inhibition, d2 is a
were .98 % pure, while the chestnut extract contained .75 % first dose higher than 50 % inhibition, p is equal to 50 (for 50 %
tannins. Stock solutions (100 mg ml21 in methanol) were stored in inhibition), p1 is percentage inhibition at dose d1, and p2 is
air-tight capped bottles at 4 uC in the dark. Propidium iodide (PI) percentage inhibition at dose d2.
was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, UK. All other reagents were of
analytical grade. Measurement of cell integrity. The influence of EO on the cell
integrity of bacteria was determined by a PI uptake method based on
Bacteria. Five species of recognized pathogens were investigated, Amor et al. (2002) and later modified by Maia et al. (2007). Briefly,
along with 11 species of commensal bacteria. Clostridium difficile 1 ml of overnight culture was inoculated into 9 ml M2 medium and
DSM 1296, C. perfringens DSM 11780, Propionibacterium shermanii incubated at 37 uC until it reached mid-exponential phase (OD650
DSM 4902, Propionibacterium freudenreichii DSM 20271 and approx. 0.6). The bacterial culture was centrifuged at 3000 g for
Bacteroides (Bac.) thetaiotaomicron 5482 (DSM 2079) were obtained 10 min at 4 uC. The pellet was washed twice with anaerobic
from Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen (Braunschweig, potassium phosphate buffer (100 mM, pH 7.0) containing 1 mM
Germany). Bifidobacterium breve NCFB 2258 and Bif. adolescentis DTT. Cells were resuspended to OD650 0.4 in the same buffer for
NCFB 2204 were from the National Collection of Food Bacteria assay. Dilution series of EO were prepared in methanol in separate 96-
(Reading, UK). Lactobacillus plantarum NCIMB 7220 was from the well plates and 10 ml was added to 200 ml of cell suspension. Control
National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria cultures contained the same volume of methanol, which did not affect
(Aberdeen, UK). Salmonella typhimurium 3530 and Salmonella measurements. The suspension was incubated at 37 uC for 30 min.
enteritidis S1400 were kindly provided by George Grant (University Cell suspensions without EO and sonicated cells (10 mm amplitude,
of Aberdeen). E. coli O157 : H7 NCTC 12900, a verotoxin-deleted 3 min; MSE Soniprep 150) served as controls. A working solution of
strain, is a human isolate. Anaerostipes caccae L1-92 (DSM 14662T), PI (1.5 mM) was prepared in distilled water and stored at 4 uC in the
Eubacterium (Eu.) hallii L2-7 (DSM 17630), Roseburia inulinivorans dark. Fifty microlitres of each sample was added to 149 ml anaerobic
A2-194 (DSM 16841T), Roseburia hominis A2-181 and F. prausnitzii potassium phosphate buffer (100 mM, pH 7.0, containing 1 mM
L2-6 were isolated from human faeces (Barcenilla et al., 2000) and DTT) in the presence of 1 ml PI solution. The mixtures were
are maintained at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health. incubated for 5 min at 37 uC in the dark. Fluorimetry measurements
Salmonella spp. and E. coli were grown in LB medium aerobically, and were done using a Gemini XPS Microplate Reader (Molecular Devices
all others were grown in the liquid form of medium 2 (Hobson, 1969) Corporation) at lEX5530 nm and lEM5620 nm. Calculation of
under CO2. percentage cell integrity loss was based on the relative fluorescence
units (RFU) of the positive control (sonicated damaged cells):
Influence of EO on bacterial growth. The influence of EO on the Percentage cell integrity loss5(RFUtreatment/RFUpositive control)6100
growth of E. coli, S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis was tested by a
broth dilution method on 96-well plates. A range of concentrations of
EO in methanol was prepared on a dilution plate from the stock Principal component analysis (PCA). PCA (Jolliffe, 2002) of the
solution (100 mg l21) and 10 ml was transferred to a culture plate to data was carried out in order to look for patterns of similarity and
give final concentrations of 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, 750 and 1000 p.p.m. clustering in the organisms and compounds. For the PCA, each of the
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D. Thapa and others
Percentage growth
differences among the organism and compound combinations. 90
C. difficile DSM 1296
70 L. plantarum NCIMB 7220
Statistical analysis. Growth inhibition data are presented as
mean±SD of triplicate observations. Data on membrane integrity 50 B. adolescens NCFB 2204
loss were transformed to log values and analysed using one-way E. hallii L2-7
ANOVA, and means for the treatments were separated by Bonferroni 30
post-hoc multiple comparisons in SPSS 19 software with significance
set at P,0.05. The PCA was performed with R (R Foundation for 10
Statistical Computing, ISBN 3-900051-07-0; http://www.R-project.
–10
org). 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Concentration (p.p.m.)
RESULTS (b)
Clove oil
130
Differential effects of EO on bacterial growth
110
The growth of human gut bacteria in the presence of a range
of EO or EO compounds at concentrations ranging from 50
Percentage growth
90
to 1000 p.p.m. was investigated. Most pathogenic strains of
70
E. coli O157 : H7, Salmonella spp., Clostridia spp. and the
abundant commensal Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were 50
affected to different extents by different EO in a dose-
30
dependent manner. Fig. 1 illustrates the type of growth data
that were obtained. The measurement of percentage growth 10
compares the optical density of bacteria in EO-containing
medium with that of a parallel non-amended culture at the –10
0 200 400 600 800 1000
entry into stationary phase. Thymol showed the strongest Concentration (p.p.m.)
effect on the growth of all bacteria, with most of the bacteria
unable to grow at 300 p.p.m. (Fig. 1a). In contrast, clove oil
was less toxic to all the bacteria at similar concentrations (Fig. (c) Eugenol
1b). Eugenol, the major EO compound present in clove oil, 130
had similar effects on the growth of E. coli, S. typhimurium
and C. difficile, while the commensal species L. plantarum, 110
Eu. hallii and Bif. adolescentis were less affected (Fig. 1c). 90
Percentage growth
Micro-organism Eugenol Geraniol Geranylacetate Linalool Methylisoeugenol Nerolidol Thymol Clove Coriander Curcuma Agolin Chestnut
oil oil oil blend extract
Pathogens
C. difficile DSM 1296 464 182 365 464 251 41 108 562 323 305 563 149
C. perfringens DSM 11780 .1000 632 .1000 .1000 608 78 388 878 .1000 614 890 600
E. coli O157 : H7 (VT2) NCTC 426 238 .1000 521 339 156 111 466 234 829 340 784
12900
S. typhimurium 3530 297 239 .1000 871 823 590 147 568 824 ND 971 960
S. enteritidis S1400 477 422 .1000 913 .1000 ND 233 833 950 ND .1000 ND
Commensals
A. caccae L1-92 814 854 .1000 .1000 686 80 202 552 .1000 620 .1000 689
Bac. thetaiotaomicron 5482 488 214 35 342 233 39 172 456 773 527 400 44
Bif. breve NCFB 2258 779 860 .1000 .1000 .1000 199 246 790 .1000 706 .1000 551
Bif. adolescentis NCFB 2204 .1000 863 902 .1000 .1000 162 299 750 .1000 653 .1000 615
Eu. hallii L2-7 661 747 .1000 .1000 770 65 179 799 .1000 610 .1000 739
F. prausnitzii L2-6 71 121 .1000 111 108 42 128 100 109 496 180 735
L. plantarum NCIMB 7220 833 823 .1000 .1000 852 188 178 680 .1000 722 .1000 856
P. freudenreichii DSM 20271 221 156 ND 356 217 ND 68 215 301 ND 298 ND
P. freudenreichii subsp. 486 759 151 .1000 522 33 142 392 825 255 695 105
shermanii DSM 4902
Influence of EO on cell integrity the top right of the graph (Fig. 3b). Thus, Gram-positive
bacteria were much more susceptible than Gram-negative
The influence of EO on the cell integrity of different species
species to cell envelope disruption by EO, although this in
of pathogenic and commensal bacteria was investigated
itself was insufficient to cause growth inhibition.
using PI, which fluoresces when it reacts with DNA. The
relative fluorescence was compared between undamaged When the results were analysed by PCA (Fig. 4), cell integrity
cells, sonicated cells and cells exposed to EO. Typical results loss explained 76 % of the variability in growth inhibition.
are illustrated in Fig. 2, where thymol or nerolidol were Patterns linking organisms and EO were identified by
added to suspensions of E. coli O157 : H7 at 50, 100, 200 and ellipses drawn on the PCA, based on our biological
300 p.p.m. for 30 min. Thymol caused a dose-dependent understanding of the species and compounds, rather than
loss of cell integrity in E. coli (Fig. 2a). In contrast, nerolidol a statistically based cluster analysis, which would lack the
had no effect at any concentration (Fig. 2b), despite having biological interpretation. The observed effects could be
an IC50 of 156 p.p.m. for growth (Table 1). explained with five clusters: cluster 1 revealed high growth
inhibition of Bac. thetaiotaomicron relative to cell integrity
When the full range of bacteria, including both pathogens loss; clusters 2 and 3 were mainly due to C. perfringens and R.
and commensals, was compared for cell integrity loss and inulinivorans, respectively, showing growth inhibition
growth inhibition by EO, a clear differential effect was mainly due to high cell integrity. Cluster 4 was mainly due
observed (Fig. 3). In general, Gram-negative bacteria clustered to F. prausnitzii, and cluster 5 revealed a subset of most
along the y axis (Fig. 3a), indicating that cell integrity loss was other clusters and mainly contained the effects of thymol,
not high and that growth inhibition occurred without loss of nerolidol and geraniol on most of the bacteria. This plot also
cell integrity. Gram-positive bacteria, on the other hand, visualized the distinction between Gram-positive and Gram-
tended to cluster along the x-axis, with only a few clusters at negative species, as they clustered far from each other.
60
100
40
50 ac c
a
20
0
0
ed
50
0
te
10
20
30
ag
ca
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
T
T
m
ni
da
So
b 100
200
80
150
RFU
60
100
40
50 c c c c
a
20
0
ed
ed
50
0
10
20
30
ag
at
N
ic
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
am
n
So
d
Un
Fig. 2. Relative fluorescence of PI as a measure of cell integrity Fig. 3. Correlation plots of the effect of EO on growth inhibition
loss of E. coli O157 : H7 treated with (a) thymol (T 50, T 100, and on cell integrity loss. Plots were obtained from mean
T 200 and T 300: 50, 100, 200 and 300 p.p.m.) and (b) nerolidol observations of 11 EO at seven doses in duplicate. (a) Gram-
(N 50, N 100, N 200 and N 300: 50, 100, 200 and 300 p.p.m.), negative bacteria (E. coli, S. typhimurium, S. enteritidis, Bac.
at 30 min exposure (n54). Different letters differ significantly thetaiotaomicron), (b) Gram-positive bacteria (C. perfringens, Bif.
(P,0.05). adolescentis, Bif. breve, R. inulinivorans and F. prausnitzii).
6 B.t_N
B.t_Ga
High values of inhibition relative to cell integrity, 32 %
5
4
B.t_G B.t_T
S.t_T
1 B.t_M F.p_N
F.p_E
F.p_Co 4
S.e_T E.c_A
B.t_I
B.t_Co E.c_T
S.t_G F.p_A
E.p_M C.p_N
2
B.t_E
S.e_E
B.t_A
B.t_C E.c_G F.p_G F.p_T
S.t_E F.p_Cd
B.b_N
S.e_G E.c_M Fig. 4. PCA scores plot to show the patterns
Component 2
E.c_L B.t_Cd
S.t_Co B.b_T
B.a_C
C.p_C
S.t_M F.p_C
E.c_Co B.a_N of similarity and clustering in organisms and
S.e_Co
B.b_C
B.b_E E.c_E
F.p_L
C.p_T compounds based on growth inhibition and
0
S.t_A
S.e_Cd
S.e_M
S.t_M B.a_T R.i_N
B.b_Co
B.a_Co
S.e_L
E.c_Ga B.a_Ga C.p_M cell integrity loss by 11 EO at seven doses in
S.e_Ga R.i_T
B.a_ES.t_Cd
S.e_M E.c_Cd
B.b_E B.b_G duplicate. Each value represented by the first
B.a_M B.b_Ga
B.b_AC.p_Co C.p_G
B.b_V
B.a_L C.p_A
C.p_L B.a_G R.i_G two letters is specific for the genus and
S.t_C C.p_E
–2
S.t_Ga
S.e_C C.p_GaB.a_A B.b_Cd
B.a_Cd
C.p_Cd species of bacterium, and the last letter(s) for
F.p_Ga
R.i_L
2 the EO. Gram-positive species: B.a, Bif.
R.i_A
adolescentis; C.p, C. perfringens; R.i, R.
R.i_E R.i_M 3
R.i_C inulinivorans; B.b, Bif. breve; F.p, F. prausnitzii.
–4
profile of both pathogenic micro-organisms and the more is relevant. The PCA scores plot confirmed that the anti-
abundant normal flora of the gut. Here, different EO showed microbial effects due to loss in cell integrity were specific to
different inhibitory effects on different species of bacteria. bacterial species, as shown by clusters 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Fig. 4),
However, in general, EO were more inhibitory towards pa- while Gram-negative bacteria (clusters 1 and 4) and Gram-
thogens than commensals, a finding that confirms a simi- positive bacteria (clusters 2 and 3) clustered more tightly.
lar conclusion made for porcine intestinal bacteria (Si et al., Some EO, such as thymol, nerolidol and geraniol, showed
2006). A very significant exception was, however, the greater generalized effects and were more strongly associated with
sensitivity of F. prausnitzii to virtually all EO and EO com- cell integrity loss and growth inhibition than other EO and
pounds than the pathogens. F. prausnitzii plays an important EO compounds (cluster 5). These differences in clusters due
anti-inflammatory role in the gut (Sokol et al., 2008), and to both micro-organisms and the EO illustrate the impor-
lower numbers of F. prausnitzii are associated with Crohn’s tance of the chemical nature of EO and the type of bacterium
disease (Marteau et al., 2001). Thus, the use of EO in man to an understanding of specific inhibitory effects.
would have to guard against the suppression of F. prausnitzii
as well as proving efficacy against pathogens. In conclusion, although pathogenic species were generally
more sensitive to EO than most commensal bacteria, EO may
A study of the relationship between effects of EO on compromise F. prausnitzii, one of the most beneficial of the
growth and their effects on cell integrity was undertaken in commensal microbiota. The possible usefulness of EO there-
order to understand better the mechanisms by which fore depends on many factors. If the site of inhibition of
different EO interact with and inhibit the growth of pathogens precedes the large intestine, i.e. the stomach or
different bacterial species. While some of the data were small intestine, EO might be selected that are absorbed before
difficult to explain, such as the difference between thymol reaching the terminal ileum or are metabolized by the in-
and nerolidol in their effects on E. coli (Fig. 2), a general testinal microbiota to avoid toxicity to F. prausnitzii. Alter-
pattern emerged that the growth of Gram-negative bacteria natively, combinations of EO compounds may be sought that
was inhibited generally without a loss of cell integrity, while increase the selectivity towards pathogens. Further informa-
the opposite was true for Gram-positive bacteria. PI, which tion is thus required on differential effects of EO in mixed
fluoresces when it interacts with DNA, was the indicator of cultures of gut microbiota and in vivo to formulate different
cell integrity damage, as it has been in many other studies dietary regimes for specific inhibition of pathogens during
(Gill & Holley, 2006a). These results appear to contrast with enteric infections, and to treat or prevent colonic dysbiosis
observations reported in E. coli (Gill & Holley, 2006a), in (Kaefer & Milner, 2008; Moore & Moore, 1995).
which E. coli treated with 10 mM eugenol results in 100 %
staining of the cell and 100 % cell death; however, this con-
centration corresponds to 1640 p.p.m., much higher than ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
the concentrations used here. The same authors concluded
that the primary action of EO in E. coli was against The authors thank Nest McKain for her expert technical assistance,
and Graham Horgan of Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland for
membrane-bound ATPases (Gill & Holley, 2006b). Our help with data analysis. D. T. received an Industrial Studentship from
observations would also support the hypothesis that growth the University of Aberdeen and Agolin SA, Switzerland, supplemented
inhibition of gut bacteria by EO is not solely the result of by the Scottish Overseas Research Student Awards Scheme (SORSAS).
membrane damage. The cellular membrane has a selective The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health is funded by the
and low permeability for polar and charged particles. Research Executive for Rural and Environment Research and Analysis
Lipophilic compounds such as cyclic hydrocarbons, includ- Directorate of the Scottish Government (RERAD).
ing EO, can easily penetrate the membrane and increase the
loss of ATP and intracellular metabolites, but more specific
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