ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
Poonam Sharma1 , Suraj Kumar Mishra1, Neha Kaushik2, Nagendra Kumar Kaushik3 and Rambir Singh4
1Department of Zoology, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India.
2Department of Biotechnology, College of Engineering, The University of Suwon, Hwaseong 18323, Korea.
3Department of Electrical and Biological Physics, Plasma Bioscience Research Center,
Kwangwoon University, Seoul 01897, Korea.
4Department of Horticulture, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants, Mizoram University, Aizawl, Mizoram, India.
Article Number: 11379 | © The Author(s). 2026
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2026;20(2):1507-1518. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.20.2.40
Received: 28 January 2026 | Accepted: 20 March 2026 | Published online: 20 May 2026
Issue online: June 2026
Abstract

Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) is a sexually transmitted pathogen with increasing treatment challenges due to the rise in antimicrobial resistance. The emergence of drug-resistant strains necessitates the need for alternative and novel strategies for treatment. The aim of this research work was to assess the antimicrobial, bactericidal, and biofilm inhibitory potential of Nagarmotha, Basil, Sugandhmantri, Palmarosa, Eucalyptus, Lemongrass, Spearmint, Ginger, and Peppermint essential oils (EOs) against MDR clinical isolates of NG. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India. Endocervical/vaginal swab samples (n = 223) were collected from women aged 20-55 years, presenting with one or more symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Clinical samples were cultured on specific media for the identification of NG. AST of standard antibiotics was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The antibacterial effect of selected EOs was assessed using agar well diffusion, and MIC and MBC were determined by broth microdilution methods. Biofilm inhibition was evaluated using a microtiter plate assay. Out of 223 swab samples, 100 (44.84%) were tested positive for NG. AST revealed that 36 isolates were MDR. Nagarmotha and Sugandhmantri essential oils exhibited the lowest MIC (20.83 µg/ml) and MBC (83.83 µg/ml) values for both. Nagarmotha and Sugandhmantri essential oils also showed high biofilm inhibition by 50.87% and 43.85% at 1/2 MIC concentration, respectively. GC-MS analysis indicated presence of Cyprene (45.64%) in Nargarmotha and Linalool (40.19%) in Sugandhmantri, as the major compounds. The findings suggest that Sugandhmantri and Nagarmotha essential oils, or their major phytochemicals may have promising applications in management of NG infections.

Keywords

Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, Multidrug-resistance, Essential oil, Biofilm inhibition, Phytochemicals

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© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.