Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of the Essential Oil and Methanol Extracts of Thymus pectinatus Fisch. et Mey. Var. pectinatus (Lamiaceae)

Abstract

The essential oil, obtained by using a Clevenger distillation apparatus, and water-soluble (polar) and water-insoluble (nonpolar) subfractions of the methanol extract of Thymus pectinatus Fisch. et Mey. var. pectinatus were assayed for their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. No (or slight) antimicrobial activity was observed when the subfractions were tested, whereas the essential oil showed strong antimicrobial activity against all microorganisms tested. Antioxidant activities of the polar subfraction and the essential oil were evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical scavenging, and lipid peroxidation assays. The essential oil, in particular, and the polar subfraction of the methanol extract showed antioxidant activity. The essential oil was analyzed by GC/MS, and 24 compounds, representing 99.6% of the essential oil, were identified: thymol, gamma-terpinene, p-cymene, carvacrol, and borneol were the main components. An antimicrobial activity test carried out with fractions of the essential oil showed that the activity was mainly observed in those fractions containing thymol, in particular, and carvacrol. The activity was, therefore, attributed to the presence of these compounds. Other constituents of the essential oil, such as borneol, gamma-terpinene, and p-cymene, could be also taken into account for their possible synergistic or antagonistic effects. On the other hand, thymol and carvacrol were individually found to possess weaker antioxidant activity than the crude oil itself, indicating that other constituents of the essential oil may contribute to the antioxidant activity observed. In conclusion, the results presented here show that T. pectinatus essential oil could be considered as a natural antimicrobial and antioxidant source.

Avaliação da atividade antibacteriana de folhas de Myrtus communis L. (Myrtaceae)

“…Estes resultados são concordantes com a literatura que mostra estudos comparando atividade antimicrobiana de algumas espécies vegetais, entre as quais Achillea millefolium subsp. millefolium, Achillea biebersteini, Satureja hortensis e Thymus pectinatus nos quais os óleos apresentam maior atividade inibitória sobre os microrganismos Sokmen et al, 2004;Gulluce et al, 2003;Vardar-Unlu et al, 2003). Neste trabalho demonstrou-se que entre as bactérias gram negativas, a E. coli exibiu maior resistência aos efeitos inibitórios de M. communis pela técnica "template" e difusão em disco.…”

Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Properties of the Essential Oils of Satureja thymbra and Satureja parnassica and their Major Constituents

“…Carvacrol and thymol were the components considered responsible for the antioxidant activity of the essential oil of Thymus pectinatus, Ocimum basilicum L. Origanum vulgare L. and Thymus vulgaris L. (20,21). Finally, in a study where different extracts and essential oil chemotypes of Thymus vulgaris were screened, the highest activity was shown by the oils that were abundant in thymol (22).…”

Activité antioxydante et composition chimique des huiles essentielles de quatre espèces de thym du Maroc

“…Ce genre possède plusieurs activités biologiques comme antispasmodique (Meister et al, 1999), antimicrobien (Essawi & Srour, 2000 ;Amarti et al, 2008Amarti et al, , 2010, expectorant (Brasseur, 1983), antioxydant (Miura & Nakatami, 1989 ;Vardar-Ünlü et al, 2003 ;Sokmen et al, 2004 ;Bouhdid et al, 2006 ;Hazzit et al, 2009 ;Safaei-Ghomi et al, 2009) et anti-inflammatoire (Ismaili et al, 2001(Ismaili et al, , 2002. Au Maroc, il ya vingt et une espèces de thym (Benabid, 2000), parmi lesquelles T. capitatus, T. algeriensis, T. ciliatus et T. bleicherianus.…”