Abstract

Candida albicans and Staphylococcus epidermidis are important opportunistic human pathogens, which form mixed-species biofilms and cause recalcitrant device associated infections in clinical settings. Further to many reports suggesting the therapeutic potential of plant-derived monoterpenoids, this study investigated the interaction of the monoterpenoids carvacrol (C) and thymol (T) against mono- and mixed-species growth of C. albicans and S. epidermidis. C and T exhibited synergistic antimicrobial activity. The time-kill study and post-antimicrobial effect results revealed the effective microbicidal action of the C + T combination. Filamentation, surface coating assays and live-dead staining of biofilms determined the anti-hyphal, antiadhesion, and anti-biofilm activities of the C + T combination, respectively. Notably, this combination killed highly tolerant persister cells of mono-species and mixed-species biofilms and demonstrated less risk of resistance development. The collective data suggest that the C + T combination could act as an effective therapeutic agent against biofilm associated mono-species and mixed-species infections of C. albicans and S. epidermidis.

摘要

白色念珠菌和表皮葡萄球菌是重要的机会性人类病原体，它们形成混合物种生物膜并在临床环境中引起顽固性装置相关感染。进一步的研究表明植物来源的单萜类化合物具有治疗潜力，本研究调查了单萜类香芹酚（C）和百里酚（T）对白色念珠菌和表皮葡萄球菌单种和混合种生长的相互作用。。C和T表现出协同的抗菌活性。时间杀灭研究和抗菌后效果结果表明，C + T组合具有有效的杀菌作用。生物膜的纤维化，表面涂层测定和活死染色分别确定了C + T组合的抗菌丝，抗粘着和抗生物膜活性。值得注意的是，这种组合杀死了单物种和混合物种生物膜的高度耐受的持久性细胞，并显示出耐药性发展的风险较小。收集的数据表明，C + T组合可以作为有效的治疗剂，对抗生物膜相关的白色念珠菌和表皮葡萄球菌的单物种和混合物种感染。