ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF BIOGENIC VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS FROM TREE PLANTS

Abstract

The article analyzes and summarizes scientific sources about the antimicrobial properties of phytoncides of common tree plants, the possibilities of rational use of them for preservation and improvement of human health and optimization of the microbial composition of the air environment. It has been discovered that the study of biogenic volatile organic compounds of plant origin has attracted the attention of many scholars of the last decades for the purpose of their wide use in various spheres of the national economy, particularly in medicine.It is noted that in the process of life higher plants release volatile organic substances that are one of the factors of natural immunity of plants, regulators of the sanitary state of the biosphere, play a significant role in the interaction of organisms in urbanized phytocoenoses, maintaining the balance of pathogenic microflora in atmospheric air of an urbanized ecosystem and residential apartments. Phytoncides are a mean of prevention and therapy a number of diseases, because when they enter the human body, they actively influence on different groups of microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Esсherichia coli, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Bordetella pertussis, Paramaecium caudatum, Stillonima millibus, etc.), which are the causative agents of bacterial, viral, fungal or protozoal infections.Many scientists have proven that volatile organic compounds of plant origin varies by their chemical composition and power of action, while the degree of their antimicrobial activity depends not only on the species belonging of plants and the phenological phase of seasonal development, but also on the vital state of the plant organism, meteorological conditions.Analysis of literary sources showed that all species of coniferous plants (in particular, genera Abies, Pínus, Picea, etc.) are characterized by high bactericidality of primary and secondary phytoncides, and among the deciduous ones it is necessary to note the following species: Betula pendula Roth, Padus avium Mill., Morus alba L., Acer platanoides L., A. pseudoplatanus L., Syringa vulgaris L., Ulmus pumila L., Vaccіnium vіtis-idaеa e L., tc. Such species, as Populus bolleana Lauche, Salix alba L., Quercus robur L., Sorbus aucuparia L., Spiraea×vanhouttei (Briot) Carrière, Viburnum opulus L., Aesculus hippocastanum L., Fraxinus excelsior L., Tillia cordata Mill., which possess both secondary and primary volatile secretions, are characterized by medium antimicrobial action.