The Efficacy of Specific Essential Oils on Yeasts Isolated from the Royal Tomb Paintings at Tanis, Egypt

Abstract

Yeast strains play an important role in the biodeterioration and biodegradation of paintings in ancient Egyptian tombs. Thirteen yeast were isolated from the royal tombs at Tanis (Oserkon II, Psunes and Shashanq), Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, dated back to 840 B.C., by using a sterile cotton swab. Those strains were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans, C. lipolytica and Lodderomyces elongspous. The S. cerevisiae strains were halotolerant for sodium chloride, up to 10 %. Moreover, they caused a fading for the azurite blue color in laboratory cultures and S. cerevisiae was the most potent agent in fading the color. Five essential oils (lemon, spearmint, fennel, marjonam and rosemary) were used to control their growth. Spearmint and lemon oils were the most effective oils in inhibiting the growth of those strains, whereas marjonam, fennel and rosemary had no effect on their growth.

Keywords

• Ancient Egyptian paintings
• Royal tombs
• Biodeterioration and biodegradation
• Biocides