Biological activities of the essential oils and methanol extract of Origanum vulgare ssp. vulgare in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey
Introduction
The genus Origanum (Labiatae) is an annual, perennial and shrubby herb that is native to the Mediterranean, Euro-Siberian and Irano-Siberian regions (Aligiannis, Kalpoutzakis, Mitaku, & Chinou, 2001). A total 38 Origanum species are recognized in the World. Most of the Origanum species, over 75%, are concentrated in the East Mediterranean subregion (Ietswaart, 1980). Of them, 16 species are considered as endemic for the flora of Turkey (Guner, Ozhatay, Ekim, & Baser, 2000). Origanum species grow abundantly on stony slopes and in rocky mountain areas at a wide range of altitudes (0–4000 m) (Snogerup, 1971). Due to the variability in chemical and aroma characteristics, Origanum plants belonging to different species and ecotypes (biotypes) are widely used in agriculture and the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries as a culinary herb, flavouring substances of food products, alcoholic beverages and perfumery for their spicy fragrance (Aligiannis et al., 2001; Novak et al., 2000; Sivropoulou et al., 1996; Vera & Chane-Ming, 1999). It has also used been as a traditional remedy to treat various ailments such as a spasmodic, antimicrobial, expectoran carminative and aromatic for whooping and convulsive coughs, digestive disorders and menstrual problems (Aligiannis et al., 2001; Daferera, Basil, Ziogas, & Polissiou, 2003; Daferera, Ziogas, & Polissiou, 2000; Dmetzos, Perdetzoglou, & Tan, 2001; Dorman & Deans, 2000; Ryman, 1992; Sokovic, Tzakou, Pitarokili, & Couladis, 2002; Tabanca, Demirci, Ozek, Tumen, & Baser, 2001).
In previous studies, it has been demonstrated that the content of essential oil and extracts of medicinal plants like Origanum species containing antimicrobial, antioxidant and other biological activities may change based on the differences in cultivation, origin, vegetative stage and growing seasons of the plants (Deans, Svoboda, Gundidza, & Brechany, 1992; Kustrak, Kuftinec, Blazevic, & Maffei, 1996; Leung & Foster, 1996; Milos, Mastelic, & Jerkovic, 2000; Muller-Riebau, Berger, & Yegen, 1995). Origanum. vulgare ssp. vulgare is one of the most widely distributed subspecies growing in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. However, there have been no attempts to study the chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils and extracts from O. vulgare ssp. vulgare plants collected from the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey up to now. In recent years, multiple drug/chemical resistance in both human and plant pathogenic microorganisms have been developed due to indiscriminate use of commercial antimicrobial drugs/chemical commonly used in the treatment of infectious diseases (Davis, 1994; Loper et al., 1991; Service, 1995). On the other hand, foodborne diseases are still a major problem in the World, even in well developed countries, like USA (Mead et al., 1999). Food spoilage caused by a variety of microorganisms has often been recognized as inconvenient and one of the most important concern for food industry. So far many bacteria (Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spp., Bacillus spp., Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter jejuni), yeast and fungi (Candida spp., Zygosaccharomyces spp., Fusarium spp., Aspergillus spp., Rhizopus spp., and Penicillium spp.) species has been reported as the causal agents of foodborne diseases and/or food spoilage (Betts, Linton, & Betteridge, 1999; Deak & Beuchat, 1996; Pitt & Hocking, 1997; Walker, 1988). The contamination of raw and/or processed foods with microflora can take place at various stages from the production to the sale and distribution. (Deak & Beuchat, 1996). Thus, food industry at present uses chemical preservatives to prevent the growth of food spoiling microbes (Sağdıç & Özcan, 2003). Due to the economical impacts of spoiled foods and the consumer’s concerns over the safety of foods containing synthetic chemicals, a lot of attention has been paid to naturally derived compounds or natural products (Alzoreky & Nakahara, 2003; Hsieh, Mau, & Huang, 2001). Recently, there has been considerable interest in extracts and essential oils from aromatic plants with antimicrobial activities for controlling pathogens and/or toxin producing microorganisms in foods (Alzoreky & Nakahara, 2003; Soliman & Badeaa, 2002; Valero & Salmeron, 2003).
Therefore, the objectives of this study were: (1) to analyze the chemical composition of a hydrodistilled essential oil of O. vulgare ssp. vulgare collected from the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey by a GC/MS system in order to be determined the essential oil chemotype; (2) to investigate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of essential oil and methanol extracts from O. vulgare ssp. vulgare plants.
Section snippets
Plant material
O. vulgare ssp. vulgare plants at flowering stage were collected from Oltu valley (1200 m), Erzurum, Turkey. The taxonomic identification of plant materials was confirmed by a senior plant taxonomist, Meryem Şengül, in Department of Biology, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey. Collected plant materials were dried in shadow, and the leaves of plant were separated from the stem, and ground in a grinder with a 2 mm diameter mesh. The voucher specimen has been deposited at the Herbarium of the
Chemical composition of the essential oil
The composition of O. vulgare ssp. vulgare essential oil was analyzed by employing GC–MS, leading to compare the relative retention times and the mass spectra of oil components with those of authentic samples and mass spectra from data library.
As shown in Table 1, GC/MS analysis of the crude oil resulted in the identification of 62 compounds representing about 89% of the oil. Caryophyllene (14.4%) and spathulenol (11.6%) were the most prominent compounds, followed by germacrene-D (8.1%) and
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