Comoé Koffi Donatien BENIE1, 2,
,
Bourahima BAMBA3,
Amin Paulin YAPI1,
Adjaratou TRAORE4,
Moussa NONKA5,
Koua ATOBLA1,
Aya Carole BONNY1,
Nohya Delvina OKONDZA6,
Dissinviel Stéphane KPODA7,
Nathalie GUESSENND2,
Adjéhi DADIE2, 5 1Department of Biosciences, Laboratory of Biotechnology, Agriculture and valorization of Biological Resources, University of Félix Houphouët Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
2Department of Bacteriology and Virology, Institut Pasteur of Côte d'Ivoire (IPCI), Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
3National Institute Of Public Hygiene, Department of Hygiene, Water and Food Laboratory, Microbiology Unit, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
4Department of Medical Sciences, University of Alassane Ouattara, University Hospital Center (UHC) of Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire;
5Department of Food Science and Technology, Laboratory of Biotechnology and Food Microbiology (LMBM), University of Nangui-Abrogoua, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
6University Denis Sassou Nguesso, Laboratory of Human Nutrition and Quality Control
7University Center of Ziniare/Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
American Journal of Microbiological Research.
2026,
Vol. 14 No. 1, 12-19
DOI: 10.12691/ajmr-14-1-3
Copyright © 2026 Science and Education PublishingCite this paper: Comoé Koffi Donatien BENIE, Bourahima BAMBA, Amin Paulin YAPI, Adjaratou TRAORE, Moussa NONKA, Koua ATOBLA, Aya Carole BONNY, Nohya Delvina OKONDZA, Dissinviel Stéphane KPODA, Nathalie GUESSENND, Adjéhi DADIE. Detection of Anti-Biofilm Activity of
Peppermint Essential Oil in
S. aureus,
E. coli and
P. aeruginosa.
American Journal of Microbiological Research. 2026; 14(1):12-19. doi: 10.12691/ajmr-14-1-3.
Correspondence to: Comoé Koffi Donatien BENIE, Department of Biosciences, Laboratory of Biotechnology, Agriculture and valorization of Biological Resources, University of Félix Houphouët Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Email:
dona.comoe@yahoo.frAbstract
Microbial biofilms pose a public health problem and are difficult to eliminate with conventional antimicrobial treatments. This study aimed to detect the anti-biofilm activity of natural peppermint essential oil against biofilm-forming bacterial strains. Sixty (60) strains, including P. aeruginosa (20), S. aureus (20), and E. coli (20), from clinical and food sources, were included in this study. The antibacterial activity of peppermint essential oil was determined by the Muller Hinton agar diffusion method. Phenotypic biofilm detection and the anti-biofilm activity of peppermint essential oil were performed using the tube method. Molecular detection of biofilm-forming genes (PelA, PslA, and ppyR) was carried out using PCR. Peppermint essential oil exhibited bactericidal activity against foodborne and clinical strains of E. coli and S. aureus. The median number of biofilms formed ranged from 0.8 ± 0.4 to 1.4 ± 0.4 (clinical strains) and from 0.7 ± 0.4 to 1.1 ± 0.2 (foodborne strains). The biofilm-forming genes PelA, PslA, and ppyR were detected in P. aeruginosa with prevalences ranging from 40% to 80% (clinical strains) and from 40% to 60% (foodborne strains). The prevalence of the PelA and PslA genes in S. aureus and E. coli ranged from 20% to 40% (clinical strains) and from 10% to 40% (foodborne strains). A significant reduction of between 101.7% and 274.8% (P<0.01) was observed in clinical and food strains at Raw peppermint (RP) doses ranging from 0.2% to 2%. At 0.1% of Raw peppermint (RP), a negligible increase of between 21.2% and 23.3% was observed in clinical strains of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. Controlling and eliminating bacterial biofilms using local natural essential oil represents a significant therapeutic advance.
Keywords