Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils from two species of Thymus growing wild in southern Italy.
The volatile constituents of the aerial parts of two samples of Thymus longicaulis C. Presl, collected in Campania and in Sicily, and two samples of Thymus pulegioides L. from the same regions, were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed. Considering the four oils together, seventy-eight different compounds were identified: 57 for Thymus longicaulis from Sicily (91.1% of the total oil), 40 for Thymus longicaulis from Campania (91.5% of the oil), 39 for Thymus pulegioides from Sicily (92.5% of the oil) and 29 for Thymus pulegioides from Campania (90.1% of the oil). The composition of the oils is different, although the most abundant components are identical in T. pulegioides. The essential oils showed antibacterial activity against eight selected microorganisms.
De Martino
Laura
L
Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Fisciano (Salerno), Italy. ldemartino@unisa.it
Bruno
Maurizio
M
Formisano
Carmen
C
De Feo
Vincenzo
V
Napolitano
Francesco
F
Rosselli
Sergio
S
Senatore
Felice
F
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D007558:Italy; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D046930:Thymus Plant / Q000737:chemistry*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils