Volatile composition and vapour activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes of 36 aromatic herbs cultivated in Chichibu district in Japan

Abstract

Thirty-six aromatic herbs were cultivated in Chichibu district of Japan, and their volatile constituents were elucidated by GC/MS analysis using ethyl acetate extract of the herbs to determine the chemotype. The volatile compositions of 30 herbs were similar to those of commercial essential oils and literature except for Eupatorium japonicum, marjoram, Japanese mint, oregano and yarrow. The volatile composition of Eupatorium laciniatum was first elucidated in this study. The vapour activity of the ethyl acetate extracts was determined by box vapour assay against Trichophyton mentagrophytes to search for the anti-infectious herbs to treat tinea pedis by vapour therapy. For comparison, the contact activity was determined by agar diffusion assay. The results showed that most of herbs exhibited potent vapour activity against the test organism, of which Roman chamomile, curry plant, hyssop, lavandin, marjoram sweet, orange mint, spearmint, monarda, oregano, rosemary, rue sage, tansy, tarragon, thyme common and yarrow showed the most potent activity. Most of the activity was correlated with the contact activity and also with main active ingredients of the herbs, but no correlation was found for curry plant, oregano, rosemary, rue, sage and yarrow.