Antibacterial Effect of Cymbopogon citratus Essential Oil against Gram-Positive Bacterial Strains ^†

Cymbopogon citratus, popularly known as “lemongrass”, is an herbaceous species originating from India, belonging to the Poaceae family, to which it is acclimatized in several typical regions of Brazil. C. citratus is one of the best-known medicinal plants in traditional medicine, as it is known for its diverse activities, including antibacterial, anticonvulsant and antimalarial properties. In this sense, with the spread of bacterial resistance, the search for antimicrobials based on natural compounds has intensified [1,2]. It is therefore important to address and evaluate the possible antibacterial activities of Cymbopogon citratus in comparison with Gram-positive microorganisms reported in the literature. This is a literature review, in which the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) “Cymbopogon citratus”, “Antibacterial Activity” and Essential Oil” were used to search the MedLine and LILACS databases, accessed through the Library Virtual Health System (VHL), with the screening of relevant data according to the established theme. The final sample was composed of 14 studies, without temporal delimitation. It was observed that the antibacterial activity of essential oils based on C. citratus overlaps across the studies using extracts. Of the bacteria evaluated, C. citratus demonstrated antibacterial activity against all bacteria tested, in which the following halos and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration were determined: Bacillus subtilis (2 mg/mL), Listeria monocytogenes (0.33 mg/mL–1.56 mg/mL), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (21 mg/mL) and Streptococcus mutans (0.25 mg/mL) [3,4,5]. The antibacterial activity of C. citratus was high compared to S. aureus in all studies evaluated. The results obtained were dose-dependent, ranging from 50 to 0.1 mg/mL. With the evaluation of different studies, the activity of essential oils may vary depending on the composition, location, climatic conditions, the technique for extracting and using the oil and the method used to evaluate its antimicrobial activity [6,7,8].