Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Thymus praecox Opiz ssp. polytrichus Essential Oil from Serbia

Abstract

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of wild growing Thymus praecox Opiz ssp. polytrichus were studied. trans-Nerolidol (19.79%), germacrene D (18.48%) and thymol (9.62%) were the main components in essential oil. This study is the first report of the antimicrobial activity of essential oil obtained from the T. praecox Opiz ssp. polytrichus. Antimicrobial activity of essential oil was investigated on Bacillus cereus, Micrococcus flavus, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae, Salmonella typhimurium, Aspergillus fumigatus, A. versicolor, A. ochraceus, A. niger, Trichoderma viride, Penicillium funiculosum, P. ochrochloron, and P. verrucosum var. cyclopium strains. In the antimicrobial assays, essential oil showed high antimicrobial potential (MIC 19–150 m g/mL, MBC 39–300 m g/mL for bacteria; and MIC 19.5–39 m g/mL, MFC 39–78 m g/mL for fungi).