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Antimicrobial activity of Thymus longicaulis C. Presl essential oil against respiratory pathogens

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Central European Journal of Biology

Abstract

Thymus longicaulis C. Presl is a small aromatic perennial herb used as a traditional remedy for cold, flu and cough. Composition of the essential oil of T. longicaulis from Croatia and its in vitro antimicrobial activity against the most common respiratory pathogens were evaluated. The yield of essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from aerial plant parts was 1.2%. According to the GC-MS analysis, a total of forty one compounds (99%) were identified. Thymol (46.3%), γ-terpinene (16.2%), thymyl methyl ether (11.4%), and p-cymene (9.4%) were the main components. Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil against six clinically isolated bacterial and yeast strains was determined using standard disc agar diffusion method and microdilution broth assay. The essential oil exhibited antimicrobial activity towards all tested respiratory pathogens. The most sensitive strains were Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae(MIC=0.78 mg/mL), while Staphylococcus aureus was the most resistant (MIC>25.00 mg/mL). Our results indicate that T. longicaulis essential oil could be effective against clinically relevant respiratory pathogens which have the ability to develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs.

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Author notes

  1. Jovica Ralić

    Present address: Galapagos Research Center, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Sanda Vladimir-Knežević, Marija Babac & Biljana Blažeković

  2. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Ivan Kosalec

  3. Food Control Center, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Marinko Petrović

  4. Kemika, Zagreb, HR-10000, Croatia

    Jovica Ralić

  5. Institute for Public Health “Dr. Andrija Štampar”, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Biserka Matica

Authors
  1. Sanda Vladimir-Knežević
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  2. Ivan Kosalec
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Correspondence to Sanda Vladimir-Knežević.

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Vladimir-Knežević, S., Kosalec, I., Babac, M. et al. Antimicrobial activity of Thymus longicaulis C. Presl essential oil against respiratory pathogens. cent.eur.j.biol. 7, 1109–1115 (2012). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-012-0088-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-012-0088-2

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