Chemical Composition and Antifungal Activity of Essential Oil of Zataria Multiflora

Abstract

Background: Aspergillus flavus is a toxic contaminant in foods, which can induce mutagenic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic effects. In last decades, synthetic fungicides have been used for inhibition of fungal growth in plants. The public attention was also attracted to contamination of food chain by these chemicals. Therefore, in the current study, we decided to use Zataria multiflora (ZM) essential oil to inhibit the Aspergillus flavus growth. Method: The essential oil from ZM was obtained by hydro-distillation and analyzed by GC/MS. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) of ZM essential oil were determined at different concentrations (0-1000 ppm). Results: In this study, Carvacrol (33.45%) and Thymol (34.44%) were the most frequent compounds of the ZM essential oil. The minimum inhibitory and fungicidal concentrations were 100 and 400 ppm, respectively. Conclusions: The presence of phenolic compounds such as Thymol and Carvacrol, as the major components of ZM essential oil inhibits the Aspergillus flavus growth. Furthermore, this essential oil has a very strong anti-bacterial effect. Considering these results, it seems that ZM essential oil is potentially an appropriate natural alternative for controlling Aspergillus flavus fungus.

Trends in Nanotechnology and Its Potentialities to Control Plant Pathogenic Fungi: A Review

“…In another study, the in vitro study had also shown a sustained and controlled release of Z. multiflora essential oils (ZEO) for 40 days. The strong activity of ZEO, after being encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) under both in vivo and in vitro conditions in comparison to the unmodified ZEO, was observed on the fungus B. cinerea [114]. The in vivo study had also revealed that the encapsulated Zataria essential oils at the concentration of 1500 ppm had shown a promising activity by decreasing both the disease incidence and disease severity of Botrytis-inoculated strawberries within the 7 days of storage at a temperature of 4 • C. This was then followed by two to three more days at a temperature of 20 • C. These findings have unveiled the important role of CSNPs that served as a controlled release system for Zataria EOs in order to enhance antifungal efficacies [114].…”

“…It can improve the antifungal efficacy of bioactive compounds (essential oils) by the increase in cell interactions among the microorganisms and nanoparticles, because of the small size which improves the cellular uptake. Nanoencapsulation in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) is an efficient technique that enhances the application of essential oils as an antifungal agent [ 113 , 114 ]. SLNs are novel drug delivery systems for cosmetic and pharmaceutical drug active ingredients [ 64 ].…”

“…This was then followed by two to three more days at a temperature of 20 °C. These findings have unveiled the important role of CSNPs that served as a controlled release system for Zataria EOs in order to enhance antifungal efficacies [ 114 ].…”

Antifungal Properties of Zataria multiflora on Candida species: A Systematic Review

“…55 Phenolic compounds such as carvacrol, thymol, and eugenol are the main components of Z. multiflora essential oil, which are generally stored in young leaves during plant growth. 56 Studies have shown that thymol, carvacrol, and γ-Terpinene are the main components for inhibiting Candida species. Differences in EO compositions may be due to differences in concentrations and factors such as the plant species, solvents, raw materials used to prepare the EO (dried / fresh Z. multiflora ), the soil in which the plant grows, the time of harvesting and extraction techniques, which all can affect the antifungal power of the EO.…”

Phytochemical and biological activities of some Iranian medicinal plants

“…Likewise, Rahimi et al. ( 2019 ) indicated that Z. multiflora essential oil inhibited A. flavus growth at 50–400 ppm concentrations. Even, Mahboubi et al.…”