Antimicrobial Effects of Linalool and alpha-Terpineol against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Korean

ABSTRACT

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the important causative microbes for nosocomial infection and has been isolated from the dental environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of linalool and alpha-terpineol against MRSA isolates from a Korean population. In the experiments, we determined the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of these two compounds against 18 strains of MRSA. The data revealed that the MIC90/MBC90 values of linalool and alpha-terpineol against MRSA were >12.8 mg/ml and 6.4 mg/ml, respectively. These results indicate that alpha-terpineol has more potent antimicrobial activity against MRSA than linalool and may have utility as an anti-MRSA cleansing agent for dental instruments and dental unit chairs.