Antimicrobial efficacy of Achillea ligustica All. (Asteraceae) essential oils against reference and isolated oral microorganisms

The aim of this study was to verify the effectiveness of Achillea ligustica essential oils against several oral microorganisms in comparison with a commercial essential oil-containing mouthrinse (Listerine(?)) and clove oil (containing 89% eugenol). The inhibition efficacy of A. ligustica essential oils alone and in combination with Listerine(?) was evaluated by the micro-dilution method. The most susceptible microorganisms were Bacillus cereus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Candida albicans. The efficacy was similar to that of the clove oil. The antiseptic mouthwash Listerine(?) did not exert a strong inhibition on microbial strains tested, whereas its effectiveness increased significantly when essential oil was added. The study provides additional evidence for the in vitro inhibitory activity of A. ligustica essential oils on several pathogens, suggesting their usefulness in mouthrinse formulations as an adjunct to mechanical oral hygiene regimens. Essential oil-containing mouthrinses can be beneficial, safe components of daily oral health routines, representing an efficient and without side effect alternative to prevent and control oral infections.     

Essential oil composition and antimicrobial activity of wild and cultivated Moroccan Achillea ageratum L.: a rare and threatened medicinal species

The essential oils of leaves and flowers of the wild and cultivated Moroccan Achillea ageratum L., a rare and threatened medicinal species, were examined by GC/MS, and their chemical compositions were compared. At least nine components were identified in both wild and cultivated A. ageratum oils, representing more than 95% of the oils. Artemisyl acetate (62.34-78.79%), yomogi alcohol (4.89-12.40%), santolina alcohol (4.86-11.77%), and artemisia alcohol (3.36-7.04%) were the major compounds. Terpene-alcohol proportion was higher in wild A. ageratum than in cultivated A. ageratum. The antibacterial analysis showed that both oils presented high activity against all the studied Gram-positive strains in a range of MIC values from 2.55 to 7.02?mg/ml, but they appeared not effective against the tested Gram-negative ones (MIC values 20.40-41.10?mg/ml). They also exhibited remarkable antifungal activities against Candida species with MIC values ranging from 5.83 to 8.42?mg/ml. From these results, it was concluded that domestication of this threatened medicinal species using clonal propagation did not significantly affect its chemical composition and consequently its antimicrobial properties.     

Antifungal Activity of Leaf Extracts and Essential Oils of some Medicinal Plants against Didymella bryoniae

The fungitoxicity of crude extracts and essential oils of Achillea millefolium , Cymbopogon citratus , Eucalyptus citriodora and Ageratum conyzoides on the fungus Didymella bryoniae was verified in vitro by means of germination of spores and mycelial growth. In addition, some observations were made using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to detect possible alterations on the hyphae of Didymella bryoniae . The results revealed that crude extracts of E. citriodora and A. conyzoides were more effective in inhibiting the mycelial growth of D. bryoniae whereas in the germination of spores A. conyzoides and A. millefolium were responsible for most of the inhibition, namely, 52 and 46%, respectively. The essential oils of C. citratus , A. conyzoides and E. citriodora provided 100% inhibition of the mycelial growth and germination of spores of D. bryoniae . SEM observations revealed alterations in the growth pattern of hyphae of D. bryoniae when the essential oil of A. millefolium was present.     

Essential oil composition of two yarrow taxonomic forms

Differences in essential oil composition of wild Achillea millefolium L., collected at five habitats in Lithuania, where plants with pink (f. rosea) and white (f. millefolium) flowers grow together, were reported. For the first time, oils of different plant organs (inflorescences and leaves) of both forms from every population were analysed in detail. Chemical analysis was performed by GC and GC-MS. The most predominant constituents of the oils were nerolidol (9.4–31.9%, in 11 out of 20 samples), caryophyllene oxide (8.4–23.0%, 4 leaf oils), ß-pinene (8.0–15.2%, 2 samples), eudesmol (11.8–15.8%, 2 leaf oils) and 1,8-cineole (11.9%, one inflorescence oil). Domination of nerolidol was mostly characteristic of A. millefolium f. rosea essential oils (in 8 out of 10 oils). The inflorescences biosynthesised markedly larger amounts of nerolidol and ß-pinene than those of the leaves. An opposite correlation was observed for caryophyllene oxide and eudesmol. Chamazulene (≤2.7%) was determined only in six oils. The 65 identified constituents made up 75.4–96.5% of the oils.     

Sensitivity assessment of thyme and lavender essential oils against clinical strains of Escherichia coli for their resistance

Strong antiseptic activity of plant essential oils and extracts has been known for a long time. The antibacterial activity of thyme and lavender essential oils were tested against 30 clinical bacterial strains of Escherichia coli from patients with different clinical conditions. The agar diffusion method was used for microbial growth inhibition at various concentrations of the oils from Thymus vulgaris and Lavandula angustifolia. Susceptibility testing to antibiotics and chemotherapeutics was carried out using disc-diffusion method. The results of experiments showed that the both oils, from T. vulgaris and L. angustifolia were active against all of the clinical strains, but thyme oil demonstrated the highest activity. Thyme and lavender essential oils were active against multi drug resistant clinical strains of Escherichia coli genera. The results of experiments justify a study related to activity other essential oils against different genus of bacteria.     

Toxicity of citrus essential oils against Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) larvae

Citrus peel essential oils are considered to constitute the most important resistance factor of citrus fruits against fruit flies. Essential oils were obtained from three sweet orange varieties, one bitter orange and one lemon variety. Yield, chemical composition and toxicity against neonates of the Mediterranean fruit fly were determined. Based on chemical analysis, the toxicity of commercially purchased major and minor components (monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes) of essential oils was determined. In addition, fractions were prepared to evaluate the role of minor components in the toxicity of crude essential oils. Limonene was by far the most abundant ingredient (96.2–97.4%) in all sweet orange varieties and in bitter orange, while the concentration of limonene was much lower in lemon essential oils (74.3%). Orange and bitter orange essential oils were more toxic than lemon essential oils. The toxicity of orange and bitter orange essential oils was similar to that of their major component limonene. In tests of commercially purchased chemicals, the oxygenated components of essential oils were more toxic than hydrocarbons but their low concentration in citrus essential oils could not affect the toxic activity of essential oils. The presence of α-pinene and β-pinene seems to account for the lower toxicity of lemon essential oils in relation to other citrus essential oils. The importance of understanding the toxicity of essential oils in relation to their composition and their role regarding the resistance of citrus fruits to Ceratitis capitata infestation is discussed.     

Chemotypes of Achillea millefolium transferred from 14 different locations in Lithuania to the controlled environment

The composition of essential oils hydrodistilled from 19 samples of inflorescences and leaves of Achillea millefolium L. plants, which were transferred from 14 natural habitats in Lithuania to the field collection, is reported. Total content of oil was 0.15–0.55% in inflorescences and 0.06–0.19% (v/w) in leaves. In total 117 compounds were identified positively or tentatively. Data obtained clearly indicate the presence of a remarkable chemical polymorphism within the population of A. millefolium in Lithuania. The content of the major constituents in the oils from inflorescences varied in the following ranges: β-pinene, 0.33–62.29%; β-myrcene, 0.05–69.76%; α-phelandrene, 0.13–29.96%; 1,8-cineole, 2.30–21.57%; and chamazulene, 0.08–30.70%. According to the major components the essential oils' six chemotypes of A. millefolium were defined.     

Achillea ligustica: composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils from the leaves, flowers and some pure constituents

The composition of the essential oils obtained from the leaves and the flowers of Achillea ligustica (Asteraceae) growing in Sicily has been studied. The main constituents of the leaves were 4-terpineol (19.3%), carvone (8.9%), γ-terpinene (7.2%) and β-phellandrene (6.8%). 4-terpineol (12.0%), carvone (10.0%), and β-phellandrene (5.4%), along with linalool (20.4%) and cedrol (4.3%) were detected in the flower’s oil. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of the essential oils and of some of the main constituents were assayed on bacteria and fungi. In memory of Prof. Ivano Morelli (1940–2005)     

In Vitro Synergistic Activities of Essential Oils and Surfactants in Combination with Cosmetic Preservatives Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus

The aim of this study is to evaluate possible synergistic antimicrobial interactions between common cosmetic preservatives and selected essential oils or surfactants. The antimicrobial efficacy of six essential oils, three surfactants and five preservatives against Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43387 was assessed by a broth micro-dilution assay. MICs for individual and combined antimicrobials were determined and then transformed to fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) indexes. All essential oils exhibited antibacterial activity; among surfactants, bacteria resulted most susceptible to the cationic agent. Synergy was observed when essential oils of eucalyptus and mint were combined with methylparaben against P. aeruginosa, while essential oils of mint, oregano and sage combined with propylparaben and imidazolidinyl urea acted against S. aureus. Many binary mixtures of preservatives and surfactants produced synergistic activity with the most effective interactions involving the cationic and amphoteric compounds under study. FIC indexes demonstrated synergistic effects when preservatives were combined with either essential oils or surfactants against both bacterial strains. These results highlight the potential usefulness of essential oils and surfactants to enhance the activities of conventional biocides. This kind of study should contribute to the selection and optimization of preservative systems for cosmetic preparations.     

Essential oil composition and antimicrobial activity of Diplotaenia damavandica

Antimicrobial activity of the essential oils obtained from leaves, root and the seeds of Diplotaenia damavandica Mozaffarian, Hedge & Lamond, an endemic plant to Iran, was determined against 10 microorganisms using the disk susceptibility test as well as measuring minimum inhibitory concentrations. The results showed that all three oils had antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli. The essential oil from the leaves had the highest antimicrobial activity against all test microorganisms including the fungal strains. The essential oils compositions were analyzed and determined by GC and GC-MS. The oils analyses resulted in the identification of 16, 17 and 20 compounds representing 94.2%, 96.4% and 95.1% of the total oils, respectively. The main components of the leaf essential oils were (Z)-beta-ocimene (21.6%), alpha-phellandrene (21.3%) and terpinolene (20%). Dill apiol (30.1%) and gamma-terpinene (16.2%) were the main components of the root and seed essential oils, respectively.     

Mosquitocidal and repellent activities of essential oils against Culex pipiens L.

Plants are a prospective source of novel natural insect repellents and botanical insecticides. This study was conducted to investigate the chemical composition of the essential oils of three plants growing in Saudi Arabia, namely Ducrosia anethifolia, Achillea fragrantissima, and Teucrium polium; and to evaluate their potential mosquitocidal and repellent activities against adult female Culex pipiens L. The main components of the three oils were found to be decanal (28.9%) and chrysanthenyl acetate (10.04%), (D. anethifolia); sabinyl acetate (35.79) and artemesia ketone (18.28%) (A. fragrantissima); α‐cadinol (49.53%) and δ‐cadinene (10.23%) (T. polium). The oil of A. fragrantissima was the most toxic (LC₅₀ = 0.11 μL/L air) followed by D. anethifolia and T. polium with LC₅₀ values of 5.22 and 25.98 μL/L air, respectively. T. polium oil was the most repellent (292 min at 2 μL/cm²), followed by D. anethifolia and A. fragrantissima. The results indicate that the essential oils have a potential fumigant insecticidal and repellent activities for mosquito control.     

Antimicrobial activities of various essential oils against foodborne pathogenic or spoilage moulds

The use of essential oils in the food industry, as natural sanitizing agents, requires the definition of optimal conditions. The aim of the present work was to evaluate some antimicrobial activity parameters as mycelial growth inhibition, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of six essential oils against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus,Chaetomium globosum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Penicillium pinophilum, Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma viride. The antimicrobial activity of essential oils was monitored by the macrodiluition technique. The mycelial growth inhibition, fungistatic and fungicidal concentrations were recorded for each strain that showed sensitivity to the essential oils. The essential oils of catnip, cinnamon, tea tree and thyme essential oils exhibited a large spectrum antimicrobial activities; those of clary sage and laurel inhibited the mycelial growth in a few fungal strains. The essential oils of cinnamon and thyme had the lowest MIC and MFC values against all the fungi assayed, followed by catnip, tea tree, clary sage and laurel. The use of these natural products rather than, the currently used antifungal chemicals, may be of interest given that: i) essential oils are of natural origin which means they are safer for human health and the environment and ii) there is less chance that the pathogenic microorganisms will develop resistance.     

Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils extracted from Korean endemic citrus species

The aim of this study was to analyze the chemical composition of 14 kinds of citrus oils and to test their biological activities. Citrus essential oils were obtained by steam distillation from immature fruits collected from Jeju Island and were analyzed using gas chromatograph (GC)- flame ionization detectors (FID) and GC-MS. Limonene (55.4% to 91.7%), myrcene (2.1% to 32.1%), alpha-pinene (0.6% to 1.6%) and linalool (0.4% to 6.9%) were the major components in most citrus species. To evaluate in vitro antibacterial activity, all essential oils were tested against Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Nine out of fourteen citrus oils exhibited antibacterial activity against P. acnes, but not against S. epidermidis. The effects of the citrus oils on DPPH radical scavenging, superoxide radical anion scavenging, nitric oxide radical, and cytotoxicity were also assessed. Three essential citrus oils, Joadeung, Dongjunggyul, and Bujiwha, exhibited potent inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production. Two essential oils, Dongjunggyul and Joadeung, showed potent free radical scavenging activities in the DPPH assay. For future applications in cosmetic products, we also performed MTT assays in a human dermal fibroblast cell line. The majority of the essential oils showed no cytotoxicity. The results indicate that citrus essential oils can be useful natural agents for cosmetic application.     

Evaluation of three essential oils as potential sources of botanical fungicides

In previous study, thirty essential oils were evaluated in vitro against two citrus pathogens namely Penicillium italicum Wehmer and Penicillium digitatum Sacc. Essential oils of Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum verum and Eugenia caryophyllus were selected because of their high inhibitory activities against both pathogens. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the in vivo activity of these essential oils. Fresh orange fruits were wounded and treated with different concentrations of essential oil (0.5, 1, and 5%) before being infected at the wound site with conidia suspensions of the tested pathogens. When applied at 5%, essential oils tested controlled totally the infections. Among the three essential oils tested, C. zeylanicum seems particularly interesting because of its high protection activity at 1% compare to the others. It reduced the disease incidence from 40 to 70% and the disease severity from 65 to 82%. Moreover no visible damage burn induced on the orange cuticle or skin was observed up to 5% of essential oil. These results strengthen the potential use of essential oils in postharvest disease management of citrus fruit as alternative to chemical fungicides.     

植物精油在害虫防治上的应用

本文就应用植物精油防治害虫的研究集中在下列四方面进行了综述:1.精油对昆虫的吸引作用;2.精油对昆虫的忌避、拒食和生长发育抑制作用;3.精油对昆虫的毒杀作用;4.不同精油或精油与化学农药的混用及其产生的增效作用。     

Antifungal activity of volatile compounds generated by essential oils against fungi commonly causing deterioration of bakery products

AIMS: To investigate the volatile fractions of 16 essential oils for activity against the more common fungi causing spoilage of bakery products, Eurotium amstelodami, E. herbariorum, E. repens, E. rubrum, Aspergillus flavus, A. niger and Penicillium corylophilum. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study applied 50 microl of pure essential oils in a sterilized filter paper, were carried out at pH 6 and at different water activity levels (0.80-0.90). First, a wheat flour based agar medium was used, where cinnamon leaf, clove, bay, lemongrass and thyme essential oils where found to totally inhibit all microorganisms tested. These five essential oils were then tested in sponge cake analogues, but the antifungal activity detected was much more limited. CONCLUSION: Five essential oils showed potential antifungal capacity against all species tested, over a wide range of water availability. Their activity, however, seems to be substrate-dependent. More research is needed to make them work in real bakery products, as in the preliminary study limited effectiveness was found. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The potential of the cinnamon leaf, clove, bay, lemongrass and thyme essential oils against species belonging to Eurotium, Aspergillus and Penicillium genus has been demonstrated.     

杉木心材精油抑菌活性及其化学成分研究

通过水蒸气蒸馏法提取杉木心材精油,并进行柱层析分离、气-质联用分析和抑菌活性试验,比较分析了精油含量、化学组成和抑菌活性成分.结果表明,杉木心材精油含量为1.794～2.076(w/w);气-质联用分析共分离出47个色谱峰,鉴定出27个化合物(占精油总量的99%),其中主要成分为柏木脑(76.27%);杉木心材精油对大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、枯草芽孢杆菌、伤寒沙门氏菌等均有较明显的抑制作用;柏木脑是杉木精油的主要抑菌活性成分.     

Anti-bacterial activity of chitosan loaded plant essential oil against multi drug resistant K. pneumoniae

The development of antibiotic resistant in K. pneumoniae is an emerging thread worldwide due to the poor antimicrobial drugs. To overcome this issue, researchers are focused on plant material and their essential oils to fight against multi drug resistant bacteria. In this context, the current study was concentrated in medicinal plant of guva leaves and their essential oils to combat multi drug resistant bacterial infections. The essential oils were successfully screened and confirmed by HRLC-MS analysis. The anti-bacterial ability of the compounds were loaded into the chitosan nanoparticles and proved by FT-IR analysis. In addition, the chitosan loaded essential oils morphology was compared with chitosan alone in SEM analysis and suggested that the material was loaded successfully. Further, the anti-bacterial ability of the chitosan loaded essential oils were primarily confirmed by agar well diffusion method. At the 100 µg/mL of lowest concentration of chitosan loaded essential oils, the multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae was inhibited with 96% and confirmed by minimum inhibition concentration experiment. Hence, all the experiments were proved that the essential oils were successfully loaded into the chitosan nanoparticles, and it has more anti-bacterial activity against multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae.     

Blend effects in the toxicity of the essential oil constituents of Ocimum kilimandscharicum and Ocimum kenyense (Labiateae) on two post-harvest insect pests

The lethal toxicity of major components of the essential oils of Ocimium kilimandscharicum and O. kenyense and of selected blends of these against Sitophilus zeamais and Rhyzopertha dominica were compared with those of the full blends of the essential oils. The compounds were assayed in amounts and proportions present in the minimum 100% lethal dose of the oils. Whereas a major component of O. kilimandscharicum was found to be largely responsible for the toxic action of its essential oil against R. dominica, the results with the other treatments indicated that the toxic action of the essential oils were due to the combined effects of different components, either with or without significant individual toxic action of their own against the insects. The significance of the results and their implication in screening and using plants and their phytochemicals for pest and microbial control are highlighted.     

Toxic effects of six plant oils alone and in combination with controlled atmosphere on Liposcelis bostrychophila (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae).

Six plant essential oils alone as repellent and fumigant, and in combination with the controlled atmosphere against Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel were assessed in the laboratory. These essential oils were extracted from the leaves of six source plants: Citrus tangerina Tanaka, Citrus aurantium L., Citrus bergamia Risso et Poiteau, Pinus sylvestris L., Cupressus funebris End]., and Eucalyptus citriodora Hook. The repellency test indicated that L. bostrychophila adults were repelled by filter paper strips treated with six essential oils. Of these essential oils, the C. funebris oil was most effective followed by that of F. sylvestris, C. tangerina, C. bergamia, and E. citriodora. The average repellency of the C. aurantium oil against L. bostrychophila adults was significantly lower than other five test oils by day 14. These essential oils had a high level of toxicity in the fumigation assay against L. bostrychophila adults at both 10 and 20 ppm. When combined with two controlled atmosphere treatments (12% CO2 + 9% O2, and 10% CO2 + 5% O2, balanced N2), the toxicity of plant oils was enhanced significantly.