Wild Chamomile (Matricaria recutita L) from the Taounate Province, Morocco: Extraction and Valorisation of the Antibacterial Activity of its Essential Oils

Abstract

This species is considered to be one of the most famous medicinal plants commonly consumed as herbal teas and teas. Moreover, some statistics show that every day more than a million glasses of camomile tea are drunk. 8 The properties of M. recutita are numerous; therapeutic, cosmetic, agri-food, etc. 9 From one hand, this plant is used for the treatment of various diseases, including those related to inflammatory conditions, 2 bacterial and gastrointestinal infections, 10 muscle spasms, 11 etc. On the other hand, the oils extracted from chamomile can be used in cosmetics and perfumery. 2 This oil is known for its best quality and is generally known as "blue oil" due to the presence of certain chemical compounds, such as terpenoids, in particular chamazulene and bisabolol. 12 Chamomile is an economic asset. However, recent evidence has shown that the emergence of resistant microorganisms is increasingly restricting the effectiveness and potency of commercially available drugs. 13 This can lead to failure in the treatment and management of infections. 14 In addition to this, it has been estimated that the steadily increasing resistance to antibiotics will lead to around 10 million deaths every year by 2050. 15 To this effect, medicinal plants have proven to be more effective and cheaper than conventional drugs in the treatment of various diseases. Furthermore, they have shown less and even none of the side effects. 16 In spite of all these studies and scientific literature, chamomile planted in Taounate area of Morocco has so far not been the subject of such a detailed study in terms of phytochemicals and antibacterial activities. We have therefore oriented our study in this direction with the aims of (i) extracting the essential oils from the aerial parts of M. recutita by two methods and then comparing these two methods, (ii) separating and identifying the chemical compounds by the GC-MS method, and (iii) evaluating in vitro the antibacterial activity of the essential oils of M. recutita against four pathogenic bacterial strains (Escherichia coli ATB: 57) B6N, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtills and Pseudomonas aeruginosa).

Determination of Chemical Compounds and Investigation of Biological Properties of Matricaria chamomilla Essential Oils, Honey, and Their Mixture

“…Das et al [82] assessed antimicrobial activity by the formulation of a pickering nanoemulsion of MCEO and confirmed the great antibacterial action on P. aeruginosa PMC 103, S. aureus ATCC 29,213 and E. coli PMC 201 for an MIC 90 equal to 1.02 µg/mL, 1.06 µg/mL and 2.19 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the extraction and valorization of the antibacterial activity of wild chamomile from the Taounate province, Morocco, stated comparable relevant inhibitory diameters and MICs [83].…”

“…The comparison of literature data about the antimicrobial effect of MCEOs have illustrated considerable levels of divergence [83,86,89,90]. In reality, numerous molecules were described as major phytochemicals of MCEO, in particular, E-β-farnesene (34.61 ± 3.79%) in the United Kingdom [91], α-bisabolol oxide B (51.428%), chamazulene/azulene (17.688%), trans-β-farnesene (6.953%) in Ethiopia (Mekonnen et al [86], α-bisabolol (56.86%), transtrans-farnesol (15.64%), cis-β-farnesene (7.12%) in Portugal [88], chamazulene (31.48%), bisabolol and bisabolone oxide (15.71%) in Brazil [81], trans-β-pharnesene (43.5%), bisabolol oxide B (9.0%) and bisabolone oxide A (8.5%) in Serbia [84].…”

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.): A Review of Ethnomedicinal Use, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Uses

“…However, the EO was able to reduce biofilm formation and alginate production, showing efficiency in controlling biofilm-producing bacteria. On the other hand, results of both diffusion and dilution techniques showed that Bacillus subtilis was the most sensitive bacteria to M. chamomilla EO from Morocco [87]. In addition, the EO showed the largest inhibition zone against B. cereus and the smallest MIC and MBC values against S. aureus [97].…”

“…Generally, the chemical composition varied significantly depending on the origin of the plants. The EO from Moroccan M. chamomilla obtained by microwave-assisted hydrodistillation showed 24 chemical components representing 98.49% of the total EO, with chamazulene (26.11%) as the main component, followed by cis-β-farnesene (11.64%) and eucalyptol (8.19%) [87]. In another study from Egypt, Abbas et al [13] compared the chemical composition of EO obtained from fresh and dried flowers using different techniques (sunlight, shade, oven, solar dryer, and microwave).…”

Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Papaver rhoeas L. Organ Extracts Growing in Taounate Region, Morocco

“…Aromatic and medicinal plants are the most essential means of treating a variety of antimicrobial illnesses. They contain a variety of antimicrobial chemicals and have no adverse effects [6][7][8]. Furthermore, herbal medicines remain an essential source of treatment for serious diseases, particularly in underdeveloped countries, and 60-80% of the world's population still uses traditional medicines to treat common ailments [9,10].…”