Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Thymus fontanesii Boiss. et Reut. and Origanum glandulosum Desf. essential oils

The chemical composition, and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil (EO) of two lamiaceae (Origanum glandulosum Desf. and Thyms fontanesii Boiss. et Reut.) have been investigated. The essential oils were isolated with hydrodistillation method using Clevenger-type apparatus and characterized by GC and GC/MS method. The major compounds of T. fontanesii and O. glandulosum oils were carvacrol (67.5-12.9%) and.-terpinene (13.0-29.4%), respectively. The antimicrobial activity of these EOs has been studied against 6 strains using disc diffusion method and microdilution plate method. The results revealed that all the oils exhibited a strong antimicrobial activity against the germs, with inhibition zone diameters varied from 29.61 to 48.56 mm and minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) of 0.11 mu L/mL for all the strains tested. Antioxidant properties were tested by means of DPPH assay and beta-carotene bleaching tests. EO of T. fontanesii had the highest scavenging effect against DPPH free radical, and the strongest anti-bleaching activity with IC50 values of 51.56 +/- 0.25 mg/mL and 1.48 +/- 0.02 mg/mL, respectively. The essential oils studied shows strong antimicrobial activity and can be considered as potential source of antioxidant. (c) All Rights Reserved