Volume 96, July 2014, Pages 1–7
Antibacterial activity of essential oils, their blends and mixtures of their main constituents against some strains supporting livestock mastitis
Abstract
Ten of the most known and used commercial essential oils (Cinnamomum zeylanicum L., Citrus bergamia Risso, Eucalyptus globulus Labill., Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Origanum majorana L., Origanum vulgare L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Satureja montana L., Thymus vulgaris L. ct. carvacrol, Thymus vulgaris L. ct. thymol) were tested against six bacteria strains Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus chromogenes, Staphylococcus sciuri, Staphylococcus warneri, Staphylococcus xylosus and Escherichia coli, responsible for mastitis in animals. The best results were achieved by S. montana, T. vulgaris ct. thymol and O. vulgare. Two binary mixtures of essential oils (EOs) were prepared of S. montana and T. vulgaris ct. thymol (ST) and of S. montana and O. vulgare
(SO). The ST mixture exhibited the best inhibitory activity against all
the tested bacterial strains. Two artificial mixtures of
carvacrol/thymol (AB) and carvacrol/thymol/p-cymene (CD) were
prepared and tested against all of the bacterial strains used. The
results exhibited a general reduction of the inhibitory activity of
mixture AB, although not reaching the inhibition of the ST and SO
mixtures. However the mixture CD presented an apparent strong inhibition
against S. aureus and S. sciuri. The EO mixtures and
the mixture CD represent promising phytotherapic approaches against
bacteria strains responsible for environmental mastitis.
Graphical abstract
Abbreviations
- EO, essential oil
Keywords
- Mastitis infection;
- GC–MS analysis;
- Staphylococcus sp.;
- Carvacrol;
- Thymol;
- p-Cymene
- Corresponding author at: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Agro-ambientali, University of Pisa, Italy. Tel.:
+ 39 0502216536; fax: + 39 0502216532.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
