Antimicrobial Potential of Essential Oils from Cerrado Plants against Multidrug-Resistant Foodborne Microorganisms

Foodborne pathogens are a real public health concern in an escalating antimicrobial resistance scenario. Natural products represent a promising source of bioactive molecules, and essential oils have attracted much attention due to their myriad of biological properties, including antibacterial activities. In this context, essential oils obtained from the leaves of Chromolaena squalida, Campomanesia sessiliflora, Myrsine guianensis, Matayba guianensis, Siparuna guianensis, Ocotea minarum and Endlicheria paniculata-species from the Cerrado biome of Midwest Brazil-were extracted and evaluated for their antibacterial activity against a panel of four standard and three clinical multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. All tested oils showed moderate to good activity against at least four bacterial strains, including Salmonella Typhi and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus. The essential oils from C. squalida, C. sessiliflora, My. guianensis and Ma. guianensis showed strong inhibition of clinical Staphylococcus strains, which cause bovine mastitis and are related to milk-borne diseases. Their chemical profiles were investigated by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS), which revealed a predominance of mono- and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, some of which with well-known antimicrobial properties. The essential oil from Cerrado plants proved active against resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, revealing their potentialities for the development of new alternative agents to prevent the spreading of resistant bacterial contamination.