Antibiofilm Properties Exhibited by the Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) Seed Oil

Prickly pear [Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.] is a succulent plant that is globally diffused. The oil obtained from its seeds has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. We evaluated the antibiofilm of the oil and its capacity to block the metabolic changes taking place in the microbial cells included in the biofilm. The oil was capable to inhibit at 38.75% the biofilm of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Pectobacterium carotovorum (38.75%, 71.84%, and 63.06% inhibition, respectively). The metabolic activity of the microbial cells within the biofilm was also strongly inhibited. The action of the prickly pear seeds oil was effective also in blocking at 64.97% the metabolism of Listeria monocytogenes cells.