Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Thymbra spicata L. var. spicata Essential Oil as a Potential Source of Herbal Medicine

Since ancient times, humankind has used plants for its flavor, essence and especially for medical purposes in addition to food source. Turkey, due to its geographical location, is home to many varieties of species of medicinal and aromatic plants. Aromatic and medicinal plants produce essential oils in the form of secondary metabolites. These essential oils are being used in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Due to the various side effects of synthetic agents, the use of essential oils as antimicrobial agents comes to the fore. The purpose of this study was to determine the essential oil composition of Thymbra spicata L. var. spicata collected from Gaziantep Region of Turkey and to evaluate its antimicrobial efficacy against microorganism species commonly encountered in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, the antimicrobial effect of volatile oil obtained from dried leaves of Thymbra spicata L. var. spicata traditionally known as Zahter was investigated. For this purpose, volatile oil was obtained from leaves of the plant by steam vapor distillation method. Antimicrobial efficacy tests were conducted against microorganisms; Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus hirae, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus hauseri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium and Candida albicans. Result of the experiments showed that the volatile oil obtained from Thymbra spicata L. var. spicata had a cidal effect on selected pathogenic microorganisms even at low concentrations. This study showed that the high carvacrol content of the T. spicata L. var. spicata grown in the Gaziantep region of Turkey is a promising source of antimicrobial raw materials in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries.