Abstract
The objective of the present study to perform a comparative analysis of the chemical
composition, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of the essential oils of plant
species Hyssopus officinalis, Achillea grandifolia, Achillea crithmifolia, Tanacetum parthenium,
Laserpitium latifolium, and Artemisia absinthium from Balkan Peninsula. The chemical analysis of essential oils was performed by using
gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Monoterpenes were dominant
among the recorded components, with camphor in T. parthenium, A. grandifolia, and A. crithmifolia (51.4, 45.4, and 25.4 %, respectively), 1,8-cineole in H. officinalis, A. grandifolia, and A. crithmifolia (49.1, 16.4, and 14.8 %, respectively), and sabinene in L. latifolium and A. absinthium (47.8 and 21.5 %). The antiradical and antioxidant activities were determined by
using 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl
radical scavenging methods. The essential oil of A. grandifolia has shown the highest antioxidant activity [IC50 of 33.575 ± 0.069 mg/mL for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2.510 ± 0.036 mg vitamin
C/g for the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) assay]. The antimicrobial
activity against 16 multiresistant pathogenic bacteria isolated from human source
material was tested by the broth microdilution assay. The resulting minimum inhibitory
concentration/minimum bactericidal concentration values ranged from 4.72 to 93.2 mg/mL.
Therefore, the essential oils of the plant species included in this study may be considered
to be prospective natural sources of antimicrobial substances, and may contribute
as effective agents in the battle against bacterial multiresistance.
Key words
aromatic plants - essential oils - antioxidant and antimicrobial activity - multiresistant
bacteria
