Screening of antimicrobial activity of citrus essential oils against pathogenic bacteria and Candida strains.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of 11 citrus essential oils (EOs) against 18 pathogenic bacterial strains and 4 strains of Candida sp. and to determine the best inhibition performance among the EOs and terpenes. Moreover a gas chromatographic (GC) analysis was carried out to analyze the main compounds present in the citrus EOs. Results showed that Lemon and Bergamot EOs are very effective against bacteria, showing a wide spectrum of action. Differences in the sensitivity between Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria were observed, while Candida spp. results very sensitive to the all terpenes and EOs, except one. These results are very interesting and encouraging, suggesting that the citrus oils can be a useful tool in the food industry to prolong the shelf-life also. Moreover being active against fish pathogens bacteria, their use in aquaculture farms is suggested.