Synergistic antimicrobial combination of carvacrol and thymol impairs single and mixed-species biofilms of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus epidermidis.
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.
['Swetha|Thirukannamangai Krishnan|TK|', 'Vikraman|Arumugam|A|', 'Nithya|Chari|C|', 'Hari Prasath|Nagaiah|N|', 'Pandian|Shunmugiah Karutha|SK|0000-0003-2925-0575']
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents D018441:Biofilms D002176:Candida albicans D000081007:Cymenes D006801:Humans D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis D013943:Thymol
Synergistic antimicrobial combination mixed-species biofilm persister cells mono-species resistance