ASSESSMENT OF ANTIBACTERIAL AND CYTOTOXIC PROPERTIES FOR THYMUS VULGARIS, SALVIA OFFICINALIS, MENTHA PIPERITA, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS, LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA AND MELLISA OFFICINALIS EXTRACTS
Abstract
A multitude of phytopharmacological studies have pointed out the extraordinary biological potential owned by some herbal extracts (Ncube et al., 2008). To establish the delimitations for their therapeutical use, the cytotoxic effect must be also taken into consideration (Gerald Müller and Axel Kramer, 2008). The aim of present research was to assess both the antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties of essential oils obtained from Thymus vulgaris, Salvia officinalis, Mentha piperita, Rosmarinus officinalis, Lavandula angustifolia and Mellisa officinalis. By determing the antibacterial activity (broth microdilution method) against the reference strain Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and, in parallel, the cytotoxicity on cultured canine leukocytes (viable cells count using Trypan Blue exclusion test), the biocompatibility index (BI) was established for each tested herbal extract. BI was defined as the ratio of the concentration at which 50% of the canine leucocytes were damaged and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). All herbal extracts displayed antibacterial potential, but also some of them proved to be highly cytotoxic to the canine leukocytes as a significant decrease in the final number of viable cells was observed. Still, in case of Mellisa officinalis and Rosmarinus officinalis essential oils, the cytotoxic effect was absent for all the tested concentrations, indicating that these two essential oils could be used for their antimicrobial activity. However, further tests should be performed on their efficacy and side effects
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
