CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF WILD-GROWING Micromeria thymifolia (Scop.) Fritsch

Abstract

Essential oil (ЕО) from the leaves of wild-growing Micromeria thymifolia (Scop.) Fritsch (Lamiaceae) was screened for its chemical composition as well as its possible antioxidant and antibacterial properties. According to the gas chromatography – flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses, twenty-six compounds were identified, representing approximately 99.0% of the chromatographic area. The major component present in the essential oil was pulegone (44.8%), other main constituents were piperitone oxide (14.5%), iso-menthone (9.3%) and limonene (8.0%). The oil was tested for the antioxidant activity in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) assay and showed a dose-dependent free radical scavenging activity with EC50 value of 6.71 × 104 μg/ml. The antibacterial effect of the essential oil was tested against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The essential oil of M. thymifolia showed antioxidant potential and antibacterial activity.

Keywords

• Micromeria thymifolia
• essential oil
• GC-FID
• GC-MS
• antioxidant
• antibacterial