Molecules 2009, 14(11), 4614-4624; doi:10.3390/molecules14114614
Article

Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oils from Two Species of Thymus Growing Wild in Southern Italy

Laura De Martino 1,* email, Maurizio Bruno 2 email, Carmen Formisano 3 email, Vincenzo De Feo 1 email, Francesco Napolitano 3 email, Sergio Rosselli 2 email and Felice Senatore 3 email
1 Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Salerno, via Ponte don Melillo, 84084 Fisciano (Salerno), Italy 2 Dipartimento di Chimica Organica, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Parco d’Orleans II, 90128 Palermo, Italy 3 Dipartimento di Chimica delle Sostanze Naturali, Università degli Studi di Napoli, “Federico II”, Via D. Montesano, 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 15 October 2009; in revised form: 9 November 2009 / Accepted: 11 November 2009 / Published: 12 November 2009
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Abstract: The volatile constituents of the aerial parts of two samples of Thymus longicaulis C. Presl, collected in Campania and in Sicily, and two samples of Thymus pulegioides L. from the same regions, were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed. Considering the four oils together, seventy-eight different compounds were identified: 57 for Thymus longicaulis from Sicily (91.1% of the total oil), 40 for Thymus longicaulis from Campania (91.5% of the oil), 39 for Thymus pulegioides from Sicily (92.5% of the oil) and 29 for Thymus pulegioides from Campania (90.1% of the oil). The composition of the oils is different, although the most abundant components are identical in T. pulegioides. The essential oils showed antibacterial activity against eight selected microorganisms.
Keywords: Thymus longicaulis C. Presl; Thymus pulegioides L.; essential oil composition; thymol; geraniol; antibacterial activity

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MDPI and ACS Style

De Martino, L.; Bruno, M.; Formisano, C.; De Feo, V.; Napolitano, F.; Rosselli, S.; Senatore, F. Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oils from Two Species of Thymus Growing Wild in Southern Italy. Molecules 2009, 14, 4614-4624.

AMA Style

De Martino L, Bruno M, Formisano C, De Feo V, Napolitano F, Rosselli S, Senatore F. Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oils from Two Species of Thymus Growing Wild in Southern Italy. Molecules. 2009; 14(11):4614-4624.

Chicago/Turabian Style

De Martino, Laura; Bruno, Maurizio; Formisano, Carmen; De Feo, Vincenzo; Napolitano, Francesco; Rosselli, Sergio; Senatore, Felice. 2009. "Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oils from Two Species of Thymus Growing Wild in Southern Italy." Molecules 14, no. 11: 4614-4624.

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