Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42304313›Full record

ArticleBMC complementary medicine and therapies2026

Chemical profile, anti-biofilm and antioxidant activities of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf essential oil.

Asmaa M Arafa, Galal Yahya, Mahmoud Saad Abdel-Halim, Ali Osman, Shaimaa I Nazeih, Hisham A Abbas, Islam Mostafa

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Plant-derived essential oil mixture fromFrontiers in plant science · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Asmaa M ArafaDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig , 44519, Egypt. asmaaarafa@zu.edu.eg.
Galal YahyaDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt. galalyehia@zu.edu.eg.
Mahmoud Saad Abdel-HalimDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
Ali OsmanDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44511, Egypt.
Shaimaa I NazeihDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
Hisham A AbbasDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
Islam MostafaDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig , 44519, Egypt. i_m_elbaz@zu.edu.eg.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe urgent need for novel antimicrobial agents arises from the escalating threat of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Tackling the resistance mechanisms through the application of resistance modifying agents in combination to antimicrobials represents an effective strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance and to enhance the antimicrobial activity. Screening of plant extracts, essential oils and their active compounds for potential resistance modifying properties has proven effective on both a small and large scale. In this study, we define the metabolomic profile of essential oils extracted from different parts of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf (lemongrass), and characterize their antioxidant and virulence attenuating activities.

methodsThe major active ingredients of essential oils extracted from different parts of Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) were identified by GC-MS analysis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the essential oils against P. aeruginosa PAO1, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, and Candida albicans ATCC 10,261 was determined using the broth microdilution assay. Antibiofilm and antiprotease activities were phenotypically evaluated for the extracted lemongrass essential oils for the same standard strains and clinical isolates for the same microbes. Also, the effects on microbial virulence were validated by RT-qPCR against a subset of genes regulating biofilm, quorum sensing, and stress response in P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities of the different essential oils extracted were evaluated using DPPH, β-carotene/linoleic acid and FRAP methods.

resultsGC-MS analysis of the essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus revealed the presence of 47 different compounds distributed in the different plant organs. Active constituents such as geranial, neral, myrcene, nerolic acid, linalool, iso-citral, trans iso-citral, and neryl acetate were more abundant in the essential oil extracted from leaves (89.77%), followed by stems (82.92%) and finally roots (52.02%). S. aureus, and C. albicans were more sensitive to C. citratus essential oils than Gram negative P. aeruginosa. Incorporation of sub-MIC doses of essential oils into the culture media was sufficient to disrupt the formation of microbial biofilms in P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and C. albicans, and to inactivate the proteolytic activities of microbial proteases. The essential oils of C. citratus showed promising and broad-spectrum biofilm eradicating activity. Sub-MIC doses of lemongrass oil dramatically reduced the expression of relA, pslA, and spoT in P. aeruginosa, and agrA, icaA, and sigB in S. aureus indicating a broad-spectrum anti-virulence activity.

conclusionOur study identifies C. citratus essential oils as potential virulence-attenuating agents. Essential oils extracted from the leaves, stems, and roots of C. citratus exhibited significant antimicrobial, anti-biofilm, anti-virulence, and antioxidant activities, effectively combating microbial resistance. These findings suggest that C. citratus essential oils could be a valuable natural alternative in the fight against resistant pathogens.

Indexed as

Anti-Infective AgentsAntioxidantsBiofilmsCymbopogonOils, VolatilePlant OilsAnti-Bacterial AgentsCandida albicansGas Chromatography-Mass SpectrometryMicrobial Sensitivity TestsPlant ExtractsPseudomonas aeruginosaStaphylococcus aureusAnti-Bacterial AgentsAnti-Infective AgentsAntioxidantsOils, VolatilePlant ExtractsPlant OilsAntioxidantsBiofilmGC-MSLemongrassPlant-derived antimicrobialVirulence attenuationVolatile oil

Identifiers

PMID42304313
PMCPMC13282879

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.