Abstract

Objective: To determine the composition and antimicrobial effect of Zataria multiflora Boiss. essential oil in "in vitro" condition. Methods: The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained by hydro-distillation was examined by GC/MS and the antimicrobial effect was studied on the growth of seven microbial species including Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Saccharomyces cereviciae, Candida utilis, Penicillium digitatum and Aspergillus niger using micro-dilution method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal or fungicidal concentration were determined. Results: Chemical composition analysis identified a total of 43 compounds in which the main components were thymol (42.46%), carvacrol (16.85%), р-cymene (10.62%), γ-terpinene (7.26%) and α-pinene (3.00%) representing 80.19% of the total oil. Other separated components accounted for less than 19.81% of the oil. Results of antimicrobial analysis showed that Bacillus cereus (MIC=50 and minimum bactericidal concentration=200 µg/mL) was more resistant than two other bacterial species. Among the tested yeasts, Saccharomyces cereviciae (MIC=200 and minimum fungicidal concentration=1 600 µg/mL) was more resistant than Candida utilis, while among the fungal species, growth of Penicillium digitatum and Aspergillus niger inhibited at the same concentration of oil. Conclusions: The results of the present study indicated that Zataria multiflora Boiss. essential oil had significant (P<0.05) antimicrobial activity.

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