Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of Thymus haussknechtii Velen. essential oil

Abstract

The chemical composition, the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of essential oil of Thymus haussknechtii has been investigated. T. haussknechtii collected from Erzincan was subjected to hydrodistillation to yield essential oil which was subsequently analyzed by Gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). The main components were 1,8-cineole (23.6 %), trans-verbenol (6.6 %), camphor (6.12 %) and caryophyllene oxide (6 %). The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil was assessed by both the disc diffusion and microbroth dilution methods. All tested microorganisms were inhibited by essential oil sample. The essential oil is also active on test fungi. Aspergillus flavus and A. niger were sensitive to the investigated oil with MIC values of 500 μg/mL. The antioxidant activity of the essential oil (100-1000 μg/mL) was determined by means of the DPPH radical-scavenging method. At 1000 μg/mL concentration of the essential oil T. haussknechtii, 35.11 ± 0.22 % DPPH was scavenging.