title: Antifungal activity of chemically different essential oils from wild Tunisian Thymus spp.
abstract: Essential oils isolated by using hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of Thymus algeriensis and Thymus capitatus Hoff. et Link. from different locations of Tunisia (Kef, Takelsa, Zaghouan, Fahs and Toukeber) were characterised. The chemical composition was analysed by using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, the major component of T. capitatus from Kef and T. algeriensis was thymol while carvacrol was the main component of T. capitatus from Zaghouan, Fahs and Toukeber. The antifungal activity of the oils and some pure components was assessed by the in vitro assay against several fungi and oomycetes. T. capitatus (chemotype carvacrol) exhibited the strongest antifungal activity followed by T. capitatus (chemotype thymol) and T. algeriensis, indicating that carvacrol might have a stronger antifungal activity than thymol.
authors.affiliation: a Laboratory of Genetics and Plant Breeding, National Institute of Agronomy (INAT) , 43, Av Charles Nicolle, 1082 Tunis , Tunisia.
authors.forename: Ben Jabeur
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Maissa
authors.forename: Hamada
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Walid
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000081007:Cymenes; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D039821:Monoterpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*; D035261:Plant Components, Aerial / Q000737:chemistry; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013943:Thymol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D046930:Thymus Plant / Q000737:chemistry*; D014416:Tunisia
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D000081007:Cymenes; D039821:Monoterpenes; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils; D013943:Thymol; C073316:carvacrol
keywords: GC/MS; Thymus; antifungal; essential oil; fungi; oomycetes