Chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial and mutagenic activities of seven Lamiaceae essential oils.

Laura De Martino,Vincenzo De Feo,Filomena Nazzaro

doi:10.3390/molecules14104213

Laura De Martino, Vincenzo De Feo + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules14104213

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Abstract

Deeper knowledge of the potentiality of aromatic plants can provide results of economic importance for food and pharmacological industry. The essential oils of seven Lamiaceae species were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and assayed for their antibacterial, antifungal and mutagenic activities. Monoterpenes in the oils ranged between 82.47% (hyssop oil) and 97.48% (thyme oil), being mainly represented by oxygenated compounds. The antibacterial activity was evaluated against six pathogenic and five non-pathogenic bacterial strains. Oregano and thyme oils showed the strongest antibacterial activity against the pathogenic ones. The antifungal activity was evaluated against six fungal strains of agrifood interest: the oils tested exhibited variable degrees of activity. Two Salmonella typhimurium strains were used to assess the possible mutagenic activity. No oil showed mutagenic activity. Data obtained let us hypothesise that the use of essential oils could be a viable and safe way to decrease the utilisation of synthetic food preservatives. Further research is needed to obtain information regarding the practical effectiveness of essential oils to prevent the growth of food borne and spoiling microbes under specific application conditions.

Highlights

It is well-known that most spices possess a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities [1]
We studied the composition of the essential oils of seven species of Lamiaceae (Ocimum basilicum L., Hyssopus officinalis L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Melissa officinalis L., Origanum vulgare L., Salvia officinalis L., Thymus vulgaris L.), evaluating their antibacterial and antifungal properties against pathogenic or agrifood bacteria or fungal strains
Data obtained in this study clearly showed the inhibitory activity of the essential oils against several pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains

Summary

Introduction

It is well-known that most spices possess a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities [1]. We studied the composition of the essential oils of seven species of Lamiaceae (Ocimum basilicum L., Hyssopus officinalis L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Melissa officinalis L., Origanum vulgare L., Salvia officinalis L., Thymus vulgaris L.), evaluating their antibacterial and antifungal properties against pathogenic or agrifood bacteria or fungal strains. Oregano and thyme exhibited the most effective antibacterial activity against all the strains tested, in particular against E. coli and B. cereus 4384, with inhibition halos of 1.40 and 1.23 cm for E. coli and 1.53 and

Results

Conclusion