Title:Cinnamaldehyde for the Treatment of Microbial Infections: Evidence
Obtained from Experimental Models
Volume: 30
Issue: 31
Author(s): Cristiane Santos Silva e Silva Figueiredo, Patrícia Vieira de Oliveira, Larissa dos Reis Ferreira, Thallysson José Dourado de Sousa, Mayara de Santana do Nascimento, Julliana Ribeiro Alves dos Santos, Adrielle Zagmignan, Rodrigo Assunção de Holanda, Lívia Câmara de Carvalho Galvão and Luís Cláudio Nascimento da Silva*
Affiliation:
- Laboratório de Patogenicidade Microbiana, Universidade CEUMA, São Luís, Brazil
Keywords:
Cinnamomum sp., essential oils, virulence factors, immunomodulation, anti-infective agents, experimental models.
Abstract: Cinnamaldehyde (CNM) is a cyclic terpene alcohol found as the major compound
of essential oils from some plants of the genus Cinnamomum (Lauraceae). CNM
has several reported pharmacological activities, including antimicrobial, antivirulence, antioxidant,
and immunomodulatory effects. These properties make CNM an attractive lead
molecule for the development of anti-infective agents. In this descriptive review, we discuss
the application of CNM in experimental models of microbial infection using invertebrate
and vertebrate organisms. CNM (pure or in formulations) has been successfully applied
in the treatment of infections caused by a range of bacterial (such as Cronobacter
sakazakii, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae,
Vibrio cholerae) and fungal (such as Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans and
Cryptococcus neoformans) pathogens. All these experimental evidence-based findings
have promoted the use of cinnamaldehyde as the leading molecule for developing new anti-
infective drugs.