Detection of compounds in the essential oil and extract of Lycium shawii: Investigation on their anticancer, antimicrobial, antibiofilm and anti-efflux activities

The tendency has been increasing toward the use of plant secondary metabolites to limit the side-effects of antibiotics and bacterial drug resistance. The present research aimed to investigate the essential oil of Lycium shawii and to explore its antimicrobial effect. The essential oil was extracted in ethanol and its antimicrobial activity was investigated by the disk diffusion method in order to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The anti-biofilm, and anti-efflux effects of the essential oil were investigated by the microplate method, and by determining the MIC of ethidium bromide, respectively. The expression level of biofilm and efflux-associated genes, including bap , abeM , and adeB in Acinetobacter baumannii treated or not with the essential oil was evaluated by the real-time PCR method. The inhibitory effect of the essential oil on the propagation and viability of MCF-9 cells was studied by the 3’-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. The diameter of the zone of inhibition varied between 14–44 mm and the MIC values against tested bacteria ranged between 3.12–25 mg mL -1 . The expression levels of bap , abeM , and adeB were significantly reduced in treated vs untreated bacteria. The IC50 was 4.66 mg L –1 for the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. The essential oil of L. shawii has antimicrobial activity and influences the clinical isolates of the bacteria, as well as exerting an inhibitory effect on the MCF-7 cell line.