Deciphering the Broad Antimicrobial Activity of Melaleuca alternifolia Tea Tree Oil by Combining Experimental and Computational Investigations
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Published:2023-08-04
Issue:15
Volume:24
Page:12432
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ISSN:1422-0067
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Container-title:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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language:en
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Short-container-title:IJMS
Author:
Iacovelli Federico1ORCID, Romeo Alice1ORCID, Lattanzio Patrizio1, Ammendola Serena1ORCID, Battistoni Andrea1ORCID, La Frazia Simone1, Vindigni Giulia2, Unida Valeria2, Biocca Silvia2ORCID, Gaziano Roberta3ORCID, Divizia Maurizio4, Falconi Mattia1ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy 2. Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy 3. Microbiology Section, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier, 1–00133 Rome, Italy 4. Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Abstract
Tea Tree Oil (TTO) is an essential oil obtained from the distillation of Melaleuca alternifolia leaves and branches. Due to its beneficial properties, TTO is widely used as an active ingredient in antimicrobial preparations for topical use or in cosmetic products and contains about 100 different compounds, with terpinen-4-ol, γ-terpinene and 1,8-cineole (or eucalyptol) being the molecules most responsible for its biological activities. In this work, the antimicrobial activity of whole TTO and these three major components was evaluated in vitro against fungi, bacteria and viruses. Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out on a bacterial membrane model and a Coxsackievirus B4 viral capsid, to propose an atomistic explanation of their mechanism of action. The obtained results indicate that the strong antimicrobial activity of TTO is attributable to the induction of an altered membrane functionality, mediated by the incorporation of its components within the lipid bilayer, and to a possible ability of the compounds to bind and alter the structural properties of the viral capsid.
Subject
Inorganic Chemistry,Organic Chemistry,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Computer Science Applications,Spectroscopy,Molecular Biology,General Medicine,Catalysis
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