Screening of antimicrobial activity of essential oil and methanol extract of Satureja hortensis on foodborne bacteria and fungi

Abstract

The present work reports the <i>in vitro</i> antimicrobial activities of the essential oil and methanol extract from <i>Satureja hortensis</i> as well as the content of its essential oil. The chemical composition of hydrodistilled essential oil of Satureja hortensis was analysed by means of GC-MS. Thirty constituents were identified. The main constituents of the oil were thymol (40.54%), γ-terpinene (18.56%), carvacrol (13.98%), and <i>p</i>-cymene (8.97). The essential oil of <i>Satureja hortensis</i> exhibited the activity against 25 bacteria, 8 fungi, and a yeast, <i>C. albicans</i>; exerting the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration values (MIC) ranging from 15.62 to 250 µl/ml. Similarly, methanol extract of the plant also showed antimicrobial activity.

Antimicrobial Activity ofSatureja HortensisL. Essential Oil Against Pathogenic Microbial Strains

“…our results indicate that S. hortensis essential oil, collected in Serbia, showed higher activity in relation to the results from previous studies (1,6,8,25). Activity against B. subtilis of this oil was in the range from MIC/MBC=0.39/0.78 μl/ml, while the oil collected from Yusufeli in turkey did not show any effect against this strain.…”

“…In the present paper, the oil exhibited very high antifungal activity against A. niger (Mic/MBc=0.78 μl/ml), S. cerevisiae (MIC/MBC=0.39/0.20 μl/ml) and C. albicans (MIC/MBC=0.20 μl/ml). Against C. albicans, the oil from turkey did not show any effect (1). According to this, savory oil can be considered as a potential natural agent for the treatment of candidiasis.…”

“…Pharmacological and biological investigations confirmed traditional application of S. hortensis l. as natural source of compounds for food conservation, as well as in the treatment of ailments including inflammatory diseases, cramps, muscle pains, nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, and infectious diseases (17), due to its antispasmodic, anti-diarrhoeal (13), antioxidant (12) in previous papers, the results of antimicrobial activity of S. hortensis l. extract were published, while the effect of essential oil was investigated by more or less precise diskdiffusion method (8), or it was limited to foodborne pathogens (1,22).…”

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

“…S. hortensis essential oil was active against E. coli O157:H7, S. typhimurium, S. aureus and L. monocytogenes in the range from 0.013-0.003 μl/ml, as well as against Pseudomonas putida strain isolated from meat with a MIC of 0.05% and a MTC of 0.013% [13]. The oil showed activity against 25 (of 32 species) bacteria in the range from 15.62 -250 μl/ml and against 3 (of 10) fungal strains in the range from 62.5 -125 μl/ml [14]. The essential oil of summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.) inhibited the mycelial growth of phytopathogenic fungi Alternaria mali and Botrytis cinerea, and exhibited a fungicidal effect [7].…”

Antimicrobial Effect of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts of Satureja Bachtiarica on Some Pathogenic Bacteria in Vitro

“…Several studies have been performed concerning the antimicrobial activity of essential oils or extracts of other Satureja species [3]. Many of the previous studies demonstrated that the members of the genus Satureja show a high antimicrobial activity due to the presence of thymol, carvacrol and their precursors [21][22][23]. In conclusion, it can be suggested that S. bachtiarica extract in "in vitro" have considerable antimicrobial ability against the studied strains.…”