The effect of wild thyme and bergamot essential oils on the growth of Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia conorii caspia in Vero cell line

• Published in: Travel medicine and infectious disease Vol. 26; pp. 69 - 71
• Main Authors: Štefanidesová, Katarína, Škultéty, Ľudovít, Friedländerová, Viera, Šáner, Andrej, Špitalská, Eva
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2018; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Animals; Arachnids; Aromatherapy; Bacteria; Cells; Cercopithecus aethiops; Coastal zone; Conflicts; Conflicts of interest; Essential oils; Growth curves; Infectious diseases; Microscopy; Oils & fats; Oils, Volatile - chemistry; Oils, Volatile - pharmacology; Pathogens; Plant Oils - chemistry; Plant Oils - pharmacology; R&D; Research & development; Rickettsia - drug effects; Rickettsia - growth & development; Rickettsia conorii; Rickettsia conorii - drug effects; Rickettsia conorii - growth & development; Rickettsia Infections; Thymus Plant - chemistry; Travel medicine; Vero Cells; Slovakia; Croatia
• ISSN: 1477-8939; 1873-0442
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2018.10.009

Dear Editor, Coastal region of Croatia, a favourite holiday destination yearly visited by millions of people is known as an endemic area for Rickettsia conorii. [...]several other pathogenic rickettsiae including R. slovaca were detected in Croatian ticks [1]. The estimated non-toxic concentration for Vero cells were ≤0.02% for bergamot and ≤0.01% for wild thyme oil based on the results of the microscopy of cells cultivated with essential oils, CellTiter-Blue cell viability and the MTT assays. [...]0.01% essential oils were used in the growth curves experiments. [...]studies are necessary to elucidate antimicrobial effect of other commonly used essential oils on tick-borne bacteria and if there is possible use in prevention or complementary therapy of tick-borne diseases.Conflicts of interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.Funding This study was financially supported by the Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia (grant numbers 2/0106/16, 2/0068/17) and by the Slovak Research and Development Agency, Bratislava, Slovakia (grant number APVV-14-0474).