Antimicrobial Activity and Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Satureja thymbra L. from Mugla (Turkey)

Abstract

In this study, the chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of S. thymbra L. (Lamiaceae), which has been used in folk medicine in Anatolia, were evaluated. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil against eight strains of multiple antibiotic resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, an emerging pathogen involved in an increasing number of clinical syndromes, was determined by the disc diffusion method. The chemical composition of the essential oil of S. thymbra was analyzed by GC, GC-MS. The essential oil of S. thymbra inhibited the growth of all bacteria tested and the inhibition zones were 24-33 mm. The maximum inhibition effect was on S. maltophilia MU 136. The major component that characterized the essential oil was carvacrol (55.8%) and other main components were determined as gamma-terpinene (21.7%), p-cymene (8.7%), and alpha-terpinene (2.3%).