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Updated: May 3, 2026
Analysis of the Lipid Composition of Mycobacteria by Thin Layer Chromatography
Published on: April 16, 2021
Identification of essential oils with strong activity against stationary phase Mycobacterium abscessus
Dan Cao1, Xiuzhi Jiang1, Tiantian Wu1
1State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Purpose:
To identify essential oils (EOs) active against non-growing stationary phase Mycobacterium abscessus and multidrug-resistant M. abscessus strains.
Methods:
The activity of EOs against both stationary and log phase M. abscessus was evaluated by colony forming unit (CFU) assay and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) testing.
Results:
We assessed the activity of 80 EOs against stationary phase M. abscessus and found 12 EOs (Cinnamon, Satureja montana, Palmarosa, Lemon eucalyptus, Honey myrtle, Combava, Health shield, Mandarin, Thyme, Rosewood, Valerian Root and Basil) at 0.5% concentration to be active against both growing and non-growing stationary phase M. abscessus. Among them, Satureja montana essential oil and Palmarosa essential oil could eliminate all stationary phase M. abscessus at 0.125% and Cinnamon essential oil could eliminate stationary phase bacteria at 0.063% after 1-day treatment. Interestingly, these EOs also exhibited promising activity against multidrug-resistant M. abscessus clinical strains.
Conclusions:
Our study indicates that some EOs display outstanding effectiveness against both drug susceptible M. abscessus and multidrug-resistant M. abscessus isolates. These findings may be significant for the treatment of persistent M. abscessus infections.
