Repellent and Anti-quorum Sensing Activity of Six Aromatic Plants Occurring in Colombia
Abstract
Essential
oils (EOs) are widely used as biopesticides and to control bacterial
infections. This study describes the ability of six EOs isolated from
plants cultivated in Colombia to perform as repellents against Ulomoides
dermestoides and as quorum sensing (QS) inhibitors. EOs from Aloysia
triphylla, Cymbopogon nardus, Lippia origanoides, Hyptis suaveolens,
Swinglea glutinosa and Eucalyptus globulus were repellents classified
as Class IV, IV, IV, III, II, and II, respectively, whereas the
commercial repellent IR3535 only reached Class II after 2 h exposure.
All EOs presented small, but significant inhibitory properties against
the QS system in Escherichia coli (pJBA132) at 25 μg/mL after 4 h
exposure. These data suggest evaluated EOs from Colombia are
sustainable, promising new sources of natural repellents and could be
important as anti-quorum sensing molecules.
