Inhibitory effects of terpenes on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

A comparison was made of the antibacterial activities of terpenes against a standard strain of Staphylococcus aureus FDA209P and clinical isolates of S. aureus. We found that farnesol was the most active of the terpenes tested in terms of ID50, delay in proliferation and minimal bactericidal concentration. The rank order of the antibacterial activities of the terpenes against S. aureus was as follows: farnesol > (+)-nerolidol > plaunotol ≫ monoterpenes [(-)-citronellol, geraniol, nerol and linalool].