Find in Library

<i>Legionella pneumophila</i> (<i>Lp</i>), responsible for a severe pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease, represents an important health burden in Europe. Prevention and control of <i>Lp</i> contamination in warm water systems is still a great challenge often due to the failure in disinfection procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro activity of Terpinen-4-ol (T-4-ol) as potential agent for <i>Lp</i> control, in comparison with the essential oil of <i>Melaleuca alternifolia</i> (tea tree) (TTO. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of T-4-ol were determined by broth micro-dilution and a micro-atmosphere diffusion method to investigate the anti-<i>Lp</i> effects of T-4-ol and TTO vapors. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was adopted to highlight the morphological changes and <i>Lp</i> damage following T-4-ol and TTO treatments. The greatest antimicrobial activity against <i>Lp</i> was shown by T-4-ol with a MIC range of 0.06–0.125% <i>v</i>/<i>v</i> and MBC range of 0.25–0.5% <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>. The TTO and T-4-ol MIC and MBC decreased with increasing temperature (36 °C to 45 ± 1 °C), and temperature also significantly influenced the efficacy of TTO and T-4-ol vapors. The time-killing assay showed an exponential trend of T-4-ol bactericidal activity at 0.5% <i>v</i>/<i>v</i> against <i>Lp</i>. SEM observations revealed a concentration- and temperature- dependent effect of T-4-ol and TTO on cell surface morphology with alterations. These findings suggest that T-4-ol is active against <i>Lp</i> and further studies may address the potential effectiveness of T-4-ol for control of water systems.