Report on the Medicinal Use of Eleven Lamiaceae Species in Lebanon and Rationalization of Their Antimicrobial Potential by Examination of the Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Their Essential Oils.

Madona Khoury,Véronique Eparvier,Naïm Ouaini,Marc El Beyrouthy,Didier Stien

doi:10.1155/2016/2547169

Abstract

Many Lamiaceae species are consumed in the Lebanese cuisine as food or condiment and are largely used in the traditional medicine of Lebanon to treat various diseases, including microbial infections. In this article we report the traditional medicinal uses of eleven Lamiaceae species: Coridothymus capitatus L., Lavandula stoechas L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Mentha spicata L. subsp. condensata, Origanum syriacum L., Rosmarinus officinalis, Salvia fruticosa Miller., Satureja cuneifolia Ten., Satureja thymbra L., Thymbra spicata L., and Vitex agnus-castus L. and study the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of their essential oils (EOs). Our survey showed that Lamiaceae species are mainly used against gastrointestinal disorders and microbial infections. Chemical analysis of the EOs obtained from these plants allowed us to identify seventy-five compounds describing more than 90% of the relative composition of each EO. Essential oils with high amounts of thymol and carvacrol possessed the strongest antimicrobial activity. As expected, these two compounds demonstrated an interesting antifungal efficacy against the filamentous fungus T. rubrum. Our results confirmed that some of the Lamiaceae species used in Lebanon ethnopharmacological practices as antimicrobial agents do possess antibacterial and antifungal potential consistent with their use in alternative or complementary medicine.

Highlights

The evolution of resistance to currently used antimicrobial compounds is neither a surprising nor a new phenomenon; infections are becoming more common, more severe, and more transmitted
Many Lamiaceae species are consumed in the Lebanese cuisine as food or condiment and are largely used in the traditional medicine of Lebanon to treat various diseases, including microbial infections
In this article we report the traditional medicinal uses of eleven Lamiaceae species: Coridothymus capitatus L., Lavandula stoechas L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Mentha spicata L. subsp. condensata, Origanum syriacum L., Rosmarinus officinalis, Salvia fruticosa Miller., Satureja cuneifolia Ten., Satureja thymbra L., Thymbra spicata L., and Vitex agnus-castus L. and study the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of their essential oils (EOs)

Summary

Introduction

The evolution of resistance to currently used antimicrobial compounds is neither a surprising nor a new phenomenon; infections are becoming more common, more severe, and more transmitted. Many authors mention a possible upcoming postantibiotic era [2,3,4]. Aromatic plants have been recognized since antiquity and widely used as bactericides, fungicides, virucides, antiparasitics, and pesticides. Their properties are mainly attributed to their volatile oils [5, 6]. Investigations into the antimicrobial activities, mode of action, and potential uses of plant essential oils have regained momentum [7]. These oils, representative of very wide chemical diversity, may contribute to or inspire alternative solutions against multidrug resistant infections. In vitro screening programs based on ethnobotanical approaches proved to be very efficient in validating traditional uses of medical plants and providing new ways in the search for active compounds [8]

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