Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Satureja hortensis L. essential oil

Abstract

Essential oil of Satureja hortensis L. was analyzed by GC and GC/MS and tested by a broth micro-well dilution method for activity against multiresistant clinical isolates of pathogenic bacteria from 10 different genera: Klebsiella, Escherichia, Proteus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Enterococcus, Enterobacter, Citrobacter and Acinetobacter. The main compounds in the oil were carvacrol (67%), γ-terpinene (15.3%) and p-cymene (6.73%). The oil showed activity against all tested strains. MIC/MBC values were in the range of 0.78-25 μl/ml, with the exception of the strain P. aeruginosa. Microbicidal concentration for this particular strain (50 μl/ml) was the highest tested concentration. The oil showed inhibitory and bactericidal effect at the same concentration (MIC=MBC) for all but three strains.

Effect of nitrogen fertilization rates, plant spacing and their interaction on essential oil percentage and total flavonoid content of summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.) plant.

“…The use of GC in the quantitative determinations was performed using the methods described by Tatjana [17].…”

Antimicrobial Activity ofSatureja HortensisL. Essential Oil Against Pathogenic Microbial Strains

“…the monoterpene prevalence in oil (82.33%) was evident, while the most abundant were oxygenated monoterpenes (69.14%). in addition, sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons (3.15%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (0.46%) were isolated (18).…”

“…the present results demonstrate high activity against wide spectrum of pathogenic Gram (-) and Gram (+) bacteria and three fungal strains. High antimicrobial activity is explained firstly by the fact that the fenol compound carvacrol (67.00%) is the main constituent of the oil, present in very high percentage (3,5,9,11,15,16,18,20). Most of the studies on the mechanism of this phenolic compound focused on its effects on cellular membranes, where the compound is altering the membrane function and in some instances its structure, causing swelling and an increase in its permeability.…”

Antimicrobial activity and total content of polyphenols of Rheum L. species growing in Poland

“…Medicinal plants, which have been used in virtually all cultures for centuries, may be regarded as a reservoir of biologically active compounds, including those possessing antimicrobial activity [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. According to our results, the crude ethanol extracts obtained from the roots of Rheum palmatum, Rheum undulatum and Rheum rhaponticum growing in Poland inhibited the growth of staphylococcal reference strains at concentrations ranging from 125 to >500 mg/mL; the R. undulatum extract exerted the strongest inhibitory effect against staphylococci with MICs ranging from 125 to 250 μg/mL, suggesting its moderate in vitro bioactivity.…”

“…Plants have been shown to be a potential source for multiple antimicrobial agents, as they produce a wide variety of secondary compounds as natural protection against microbial attack [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The use of plants or plant preparations to treat infections has been a common practice in virtually all cultures for a long time [6,7].…”