The antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of Origanum vulgare ssp. viride essential oils, endemic in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, the aerial parts of O. vulgare ssp. viride, the endemic taxa of Turkey, were collected from Uşak province, and the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities were investigated. Essential oils from the aerial parts of the plants were obtained with the hydrodistillation method. In vitro antimicrobial activities of the essential oils on various antibiotic resistant bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and the yeast Candida albicans were tested by disk diffusion and microplate dilution methods. The effect of different concentrations of the essential oils on biofilm-forming ability of the test microorganisms were determined by microplate biofilm method.

The essential oils of O. vulgare ssp. viride had no antimicrobial activity against the tested bacteria. Although the essential oil has no antimicrobial activity, it has different rates antibiofilm activity against all strains tested with the exception of P. aeruginosa MU 187.

To our knowledge, this is the first study of the antibiofilm activity of the essential oil of O. vulgare ssp. viride. The results showed that the essential oil can be used as an antibiofilm agent against the biofilm ability strains. This activity is an important topic in the medical field as well as in the food industry and wastewater treatment plants.