CEQUIMED-UP, Microbiology Service, Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua Aníbal Cunha 164, 4050-047 Porto, Portugal.
Center of Pharmaceutical Studies, Faculty of Pharmacy, Health Science Campus, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga de S. Comba, 3000-354 Coimbra, Portugal.
J Med Microbiol. 2012 Feb;61(Pt 2):252-260. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.036988-0. Epub 2011 Oct 20.
Origanum vulgare subsp. virens (Hoffmanns. & Link) Bonnier & Layens and its essential oil (EO) are widely used in the treatment of respiratory and cutaneous infections in traditional medicine. In order to establish a basis for its traditional use, the antimicrobial activity of the EO of O. vulgare subsp. virens was evaluated against human fungal pathogens. Different oil samples were studied in order to elucidate the intraspecific chemical variability and its impact on the biological activity. Flowering aerial parts of three samples of O. vulgare subsp. virens were collected in different geographical locations and EOs were isolated from air-dried plant material by hydrodistillation. The oils were analysed by GC and GC-MS. Minimal inhibitory and minimal lethal concentrations were measured by broth macrodilution methods for the oils and their main constituents against human pathogenic fungi and the influence of the oils on the filamentation in Candida albicans was assayed. The effect of the oil samples on cell metabolism and cell membrane integrity was studied by flow cytometry. Significant quantitative differences in chemical composition were found between the EO samples and, while the three samples generally displayed potent fungicidal activity, their antifungal potencies varied and appeared to be intensified by increasing carvacrol content. The inhibition of filamentation, on the other hand, may correlate more with γ-terpinene content. The flow cytometry results confirmed the occurrence of damage to the plasma membrane, although not necessarily as a direct effect of the oil on the membrane. The EO of O. vulgare subsp. virens is a broad-spectrum fungicide, thus justifying its potential for use in the treatment of superficial or mucosal fungal infections. The EO shows significant variability in chemical composition between samples, which, in turn, affects its biological activity.
牛至属香芹酚天蓝亚种（霍夫曼斯。&林克）博尼尔&莱昂斯及其精油（EO）在传统医学中被广泛用于治疗呼吸道和皮肤感染。为了为其传统用途建立基础，评估了牛至属香芹酚天蓝亚种精油对人类真菌病原体的抗菌活性。研究了不同的油样，以阐明种内化学变异性及其对生物活性的影响。在不同的地理位置采集了三种牛至属香芹酚天蓝亚种的开花地上部分，并通过水蒸馏从风干植物材料中分离出 EO。通过 GC 和 GC-MS 对油进行分析。通过肉汤宏稀释法测量油及其主要成分对人类致病真菌的最小抑菌和最小致死浓度，并测定油对白色念珠菌丝状形成的影响。通过流式细胞术研究油样品对细胞代谢和细胞膜完整性的影响。EO 样品之间发现了化学成分的显著定量差异，尽管三个样品通常显示出很强的杀菌活性，但它们的抗真菌效力不同，并且似乎随着香芹酚含量的增加而增强。另一方面，丝状抑制可能与γ-萜品烯含量更相关。流式细胞术结果证实了质膜的损伤，尽管不一定是油对膜的直接作用。牛至属香芹酚天蓝亚种的精油是一种广谱杀菌剂，因此证明其有潜力用于治疗浅表或粘膜真菌感染。EO 在化学成分上在样品之间表现出显著的可变性，这反过来又影响其生物活性。
