Abstract
Ten essential oils, namely, mint (Mentha spicata L., Lamiaceae), ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc., Zingiberaceae), lemon (Citrus limon Burm.f., Rutaceae), grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf., Rutaceae), jasmine (Jasminum grandiflora L., Oleaceae), lavender (Mill., Lamiaceae), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L., Compositae), thyme (Thymus vulgaris L., Lamiaceae), rose (Rosa damascena Mill., Rosaceae) and cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum N. Lauraceae) were tested for their antibacterial activities towards Propionibacterium acnes and in vitro toxicology against three human cancer cell lines. Thyme, cinnamon and rose essential oils exhibited the best antibacterial activities towards P. acnes, with inhibition diameters of 40 ± 1.2 mm, 33.5 ± 1.5 mm and 16.5 ± 0.7 mm, and minimal inhibitory concentrations of 0.016% (v/v), 0.016% (v/v) and 0.031% (v/v), respectively. Time-kill dynamic procedures showed that thyme, cinnamon, rose, and lavender essential oils exhibited the strongest bactericidal activities at a concentration of 0.25% (v/v), and P. acnes was completely killed after 5 min. The thyme essential oil exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity towards three human cancer cells. Its inhibition concentration 50% (IC50) values on PC-3, A549 and MCF-7 tumor cell lines were 0.010% (v/v), 0.011% (v/v) and 0.030% (v/v), respectively. The cytotoxicity of 10 essential oils on human prostate carcinoma cell (PC-3) was significantly stronger than on human lung carcinoma (A549) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines.
Highlights
During recent years, plant essential oils have come more into the focus of phytomedicine [1,2].Their widespread use has raised the interest of scientists in basic research of essential oils
We first analyzed the anti-bacterial activities of essential oils towards P. acnes
The data obtained from the disc diffusion method indicated that thyme essential oil exhibited the strongest inhibitory activities
Summary
Plant essential oils have come more into the focus of phytomedicine [1,2].Their widespread use has raised the interest of scientists in basic research of essential oils. Plant essential oils have come more into the focus of phytomedicine [1,2]. For many years antibiotics and hormones were usually applied to treat acne [7,8]. These agents are often accompanied by severe side effects and drug resistance [9,10]. Phytotherapeutic approaches with high antibacterial activity and without side effects have been extensively studied as an alternative. In this context, essential oils extracted from herbs have been investigated for the treatment of acne [11]
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