In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Natural Essence and Distilled Extract of Bergamot against Drug Resistance Clinical Isolates

Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) belongs to the Citreae tribe in the Aurantioideae subfamily of the Rutaceae plant family cultivated almost exclusively along the coast of the Calabria region, Southern Italy. Bergamot essential oil is widely employed in cosmetics such as in aromatherapy and its antimicrobial effects against bacteria, yeasts and virus are also demonstrated. This study evaluates the “in vitro” antimicrobial activity of natural essence and distilled extract of bergamot on drug resistance pathogens isolated from clinical specimens of patients admitted to University Hospital of Catanzaro, Italy. Bactericidal and fungicidal activity was analyzed using a micro well dilution assay and the efficacy of tested substances was verified by acridine orange staining procedures and confocal microscopy. Data revealed that the distilled extract of bergamot possessed greatest antimicrobial efficacy when compared with essential oil particularly against drug resistant Gram negative bacteria such as Acinetobacter baumannii, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae responsible for nosocomial infections representing a worldwide public health problem. This study suggests that alternative antimicrobial substances as well as distilled extract of bergamot could be of great utility to prevent microbial contamination on hospital devices and healthcare personnel hand ski