The growing problem of bacterial resistance to multiple drugs threatens the effectiveness of conventional treatments and increases the burden of hospital-acquired infections, hospitalizations, and healthcare costs. This scenario encourages the search for alternative therapies, such as essential oils from the Rutaceae family, including Citrus aurantiifolia (Mexican lime), which are recognized for their antibacterial potential. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Citrus aurantiifolia essential oil (CAEO) against standard and multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains, as well as to assess its synergistic effects when combined with clinically used antibiotics. The CAEO was commercially obtained, and its inhibitory activity was assessed through the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), with values ranging from 0.5 to 512 μg/mL. Interactions with antibiotics were evaluated using subinhibitory concentrations, and results were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. The findings showed that CAEO did not exhibit significant antibacterial activity. Moreover, no relevant potentiating effect was observed in combination with antibiotics. The combination with gentamicin against S. aureus had little effect, as the MIC of the antibiotic increased.
Moreira et al. (Mon,) studied this question.