Evaluation of the Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Adherent Activity of Pogostemon Cablin’s Essential Oil Against Klebsiella Pneumoniae

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an example of a microorganism that does not belong to the oral biofilm in a state of health but is present in cases of infection, especially nosocomial infections. The high virulence and resistance of this bacterium to various forms of antimicrobial treatment represent a major concern in the hospital environment, as it is responsible for a high number of deaths of hospitalized patients under mechanical ventilation, so the search for new drugs that are effective in treating this bacterium is extremely important. Natural products, especially essential oils, have considerable therapeutic activities in antimicrobial treatments. A good example is Pogostemon cablin, which has antimicrobial, anti-adherent, and anti-inflammatory activities, among others. Thus, this research aimed to analyze the possible antimicrobial potential of the essential oil extracted from Pogostemon cablin against strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, using the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), which was determined using the microdilution technique in plates containing 96 sterile holes with positive control, the antimicrobial chloramphenicol. The Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was read 48 hours after the MIC, using plates with 96 holes. After the reading, it was found that the essential oil of Pogostemon cablin had a 50% MIC of 512 μg/mL against the Klebsiella pneumoniae strains tested, making it a strong bacteriostatic. It was therefore possible to observe the antibacterial potential of Pogostemon cablin essential oil against the K. pneumoniae strains tested.