The antibacterial activity of clove essential oil against Propionibacterium acnes and its mechanism of action.

Propionibacterium acnes is a gram-positive anaerobic microorganism recognized as the major skin bacterium causing acne. Clove essential oil is the extract of Syzygium aromaticum (L) Merr et Perry. Its antimicrobial property has been reported, but to our knowledge its antibacterial activity toward P acnes and the mechanism of action have not been reported. Methods. Agar diffusion and broth microdilution methods were used to evaluate the activity of clove essential oil toward P acnes, and the mechanisms of action were investigated by flow cytometry (FCM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and sodium dodecyl sulfate– polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).