Chemical compositions, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam. essential oils collected from different parts of Iran

The aims of the present study were to investigate chemical compositions, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Ziziphora clinopodioides essential oils (ZEOs) collected from four provinces in western Iran (Ilam, Lorestan, Kermanshah and Kurdestan). Carvacrol was the most abundant constituent in the flower, stem and leaf oil samples of Ilam, Lorestan and Kermanshah regions by 73.12–74.29%, 66.47–66.89% and 65.11–65.32%, respectively. The most abundant components in Kurdestan sample were thymol (55.32–55.60%), followed by γ-terpinene (24.45–24.56%), p-cymene (10.21–10.25%) and α-terpinene (2.75–2.77%). The ZEO inhibited the growth of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus at MIC values between 0.03 and 0.04%. Kermanshah oil sample had a higher 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging (0.30–0.31 mg/ml), ability to prevent the bleaching of β-carotene (0.09–0.1 mg/ml), ferric reducing power (0.40–0.42 mg/ml) and thiobarbituric acid (0.004–0.006 Meq of malondialdehyde/g) values than that of ZEOs from Ilam, Kurdestan and Lorestan. The strong in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities supports the traditional use of ZEO in the treatments of gastrointestinal diseases.