CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF ORIGANUM SACCATUM L.

The chemical constituents of essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation of aerial parts of Origanum saccatum L. growing wild of 39 constituents were identified accounting for 99.11% of the oil of O. saccatum. The oil of O. saccatum contained, as main components, p-cymene (82.8%), gamma-terpinene (6.2%), p-cymene-8-ol (1.5%) and carvacrol (1.2%). The essential oil of O. saccatum was characterized by its high content of p-cymene. Preliminary experiment was carried out in vitro using the diffusion method to investigate antimicrobial activity of the O. saccatum oil. The oil exerted varying levels of antimicrobial effects on the growth of all microorganisms (except for 100 ppm which belongs to Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus aureus). The antimicrobial activity of the O. saccatum oil was established by using agar diffusion method. The results showed that antimicrobial activity increased depending on the concentration degree used. The highest sensitive bacteria had Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. As a result, inhibitory effect of oil was weak on tested bacteria compared with fungi. The extent of inhibition of tested microorganism growth was dependent on the concentrations of essential oil used. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Some investigations showed that the use of spices in place of chemicals and synthetics has become indispensable because of their antimicrobial effects and also because of the increasing risk of the side effects of chemical and synthetic preservatives on health. Also, spices and derivatives have been used since ancient times to preserve foods, make foods tastier, cure diseases and produce aromatic substances. Many species of aromatic plants belonging to the Labiatae family grow wild in the east Mediterranean basin. Dried oregano leaves are well known not only in the herb industry mainly but also for other appetizing applications, and as a source of essential oils.