Fitoterapia 79 (2008) 199 203 www.elsevier.

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Compositions and antifungal activities of essential oils of some Algerian aromatic plants
Roger Giordani a,, Youcef Hadef b , Jacques Kaloustian c,d
b

Laboratoire de Botanique, Cryptogamie et Biologie Cellulaire, Facult de Pharmacie, Universit de la Mditerrane, 13385 Marseille Cedex 05, France Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique, Dpartement de Pharmacie, Facult de Mdecine, Universit Badji Mohktar, BP 205, Annaba, Algeria c Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique, Facult de Pharmacie, Universit de la Mditerrane, 13385 Marseille, Cedex 05, France d UMR Universit de la Mditerrane, INSERM 476, INRA 1260, Facult de Mdecine, Marseille, France Received 16 April 2007; accepted 15 November 2007 Available online 4 March 2008

Abstract Essential oils extracted from ten Algerian plants were analyzed for their potential activity against Candida albicans. The highest efficiency was obtained with the essential oil from Thymus numidicus which showed antifungal effect 1357 fold stronger than that measured with amphotericin B. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Thymus numidicus; Candida albicans; Antifungal activity; Essential oils

1. Plants Aromatic plants from the East Algerian flora, collected in 2004 during the flowering stage: two species of thyme from Khedara near Souk aharas (Thymus numidicus, Thymus algeriensis) in March, a second sampling of T. numidicus from Berrahal near Annaba in March, another sampling of T. algeriensis from Fatoum Souda near Souk haras in March, Thymus ciliatis from Djebel Ansel near Guelma in June, Thymus vulgaris (Lamiaceae) from Souk aharas, Origanum majorana from Guigueba near Guelma in June and a second sample of O. majorana (Lamiaceae) from Touadjnia near Guelma in June, Artemisia herba (Asteraceae) from Ichemoul in October, Rosmarinus officinalis (Lamiaceae) from Annaba in February. 2. Use in traditional medicine Aromatic plants growing in East Algerian were widely used for their sedative and antiseptic effects for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. These plants were used, fresh and dried as culinary herbs and in traditional medicine

Corresponding author. E-mail address: rglatplus@aol.com (R. Giordani). 0367-326X/$ - see front matter 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2007.11.004

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Table 1 Chemical composition of the essential oils of various Thymus spp Compound a Thymus numidicus (a) Thymus numidicus (b) Thymus algeriensis (c) Thymus algeriensis (d) Thymus ciliates (e) Thymus vulgaris (f)

Concentration (% peak area) -Thujene 0.46 -Pinene 0.35 Camphene 1-Cyclohexene-1-methanol -Thujene 1-Octene-3-ol Sabinene -Pinene 0.74 -3-Carene -Terpinene 0.77 p-Cymene 6.20 Limonene 1,8 Cineol trans-Ocimene -Terpinene 6.12 trans-Sabinene hydrate 0.54 Fenchone 0.45 Linalool 8.62 Cis-Sabinene hydrate -Campholenal trans-Pinocarveol Cis-Verbenol Camphor 0.43 Pinocarvone Borneol 0.33 Terpineol-4 Dodecene-1 -Terpineol Verbenone Thymol methyl ether Thymoquinone Bornyl acetate Thymol 66.31 Isobornyl acetate Carvacrol 4.31 -Terpinenyl acetate -Copaene 0.31 -Bourbonene -Gurjunene -Cubenene -Caryophyllene 0.31 -Cubenene Allo-Aromadendrene -Muurolene 0.64 -Cadinene 0.58 Germacrene D Valencene -Bisabolene -Cadinene 0.44 -Cadinene 0.61 -Sesquiphellandrene 0.52 Ledol Hydroxy germacra-1(10), 5-diene (4 beta) 0.46 0.52 2.54 0.98 1.10 1.21 7.55 5.25 2.66 0.21 0.24 0.90 2.41 7.69 2.84 0.69 0.70 2.18 0.17 0.24 0.63 1.05 8.77 0.32 2.40 0.34 0.36 0.72 0.49 0.33 1.21 57.20 1.03 2.20 0.32 0.44 0.14 2.54 0.30 0.90 0.27 0.25 0.26 0.20 0.50 0.86 0.46 3.12 0.56 0.29 0.27 1.24 0.33 1.40 3.39 3.52 0.65 0.32 0.30 1.06 1.73 3.14 0.15 0.72 0.39 0.30 0.16 0.25 0.34 0.24 0.32 0.46 1.99 3.15 2.34 0.46 0.25 0.62 0.18 4.93 0.31 0.56 0.13 2.13 11.41 5.61 3.12 0.21 0.15 0.64 2.46 7.68 1.44 0.18 0.98 1.57 0.15 0.30 0.63 0.79 8.45 0.33 1.81 0.46 0.40 0.90 0.40 0.42 1.87 0.35 2.28 8.10 0.39 0.24 9.45 0.52 1.72 0.27 0.74 27.14 0.42 1.13 0.81 25.52 0.34 2.00 1.78 3.13 0.99 12.10 0.30

1.50 26.36 1.24

9.19 0.77 9.26

0.43 2.71

0.08 0.20

0.27

0.64

1.11 10.50 1.12 60.52 25.57

0.61

0.45 0.72 0.36 0.20

0.75

R. Giordani et al. / Fitoterapia 79 (2008) 199203 Table 1 (continued) Compound a Thymus numidicus (a) Thymus numidicus (b) Thymus algeriensis (c) Thymus algeriensis (d) Thymus ciliates (e) Thymus vulgaris (f)

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Concentration (% peak area) N-Tridecanol Caryophyllene oxide Globulol Viiridiflorol -Cadinol isomer Cadinol () -Cadinol -Cadinol Eudesmol 0.22 0.61 0.47 0.25 0.60 0.48 1.39 0.21 0.62 0.64 0.33 0.24 0.52 0.55 1.23 0.25

Collected from: a, Berrahal (Annaba); b, Khedara (Souk aharas); c, Fatoum Souda (Souk aharas); d, Khedara (Souk aharas); e, Djebel Ansel (Guelma); f, Souk aharas. a Compounds listed in order of elution; only compounds 0.08% are reported.

(infusions). Antifungal activities of plants belonging to the Thymus spp. have been described [13] but no studies of numidicus species have been reported in literature.

3. Previously isolated constituents No reports. 4. Tested material Essential oils obtained by steam distillation (yield: 23%). The chemical composition was determined by GC/MS analysis [4]. 5. Studied activity Antifungal activity by dilution method [5] and modelling of fungal growth [6]. 6. Used microorganism Reference strain C. albicans ATCC 90029 obtained from Institut Pasteur (Paris, France). 7. Results Chemical compositions of essential oils are indicated in Tables 1 and 2. The antifungal activities measured by determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC 80%) are given in Table 3. 8. Conclusions The oil of T. numidicus, endemic species of East Algeria, exhibited the strongest antifungal activity. Its antifungal effect was 31 fold more important than the best measured up to date in the same experimental conditions, that of T. vulgaris thymol chemotype (0.016 l/ml,i.e. 0.0148 g/ml) [7]. It is evident that there is a relationship between the strong antifungal activity and the high phenols (thymol and carvacrol)/precursors (p-cymene and -terpinene) content. The possibility that other minor components such as linalool, exhibiting some antifungal effect, cannot be discarded to explain this additional activity. Otherwise a synergistic phenomenon between several components of the oil from

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Table 2 Chemical composition of the essential oils of some Algerian Origanum, Rosmarinus and Artemisia spp Compound a Origanum majorana (g) Origanum majorana (h) Rosmarinus officinalis (i) Artemisia herba (j)

Concentration (% peak area) -Thujene -Pinene Camphene 1-Cyclohexene-1-methanol Dimethyl-bicyclo(3,1)hepta-2(8), 3-diene (6,6) Sabinene 3-Octanone -Pinene -Myrcene -3-Carene -Phellandrene -Terpinene p-Cymene Limonene 1,8 Cineol trans-Ocimene -Terpinene -Terpinolene trans-Sabinene hydrate Linalool cis-Sabinene hydrate -Thuyone -Thuyone Safranal trans-Pinocarveol cis-Verbenol Camphor Pinocamphone Pinocarvone Borneol Pinocamphone isomer Terpinene-4-ol Dodecene-1 -Terpineol Verbenone Bornyl acetate Thymol Isobornyl acetate Carvacrol -Copaene -Bourbonene 1-Tetradecene -Caryophyllene Humulene -Muurolene -Cadinene Germacrene D isomer Valencene -Bisabolene -Cadinene -Cadinene -Sesquiphellandrene 1.77 0.84 2.41 1.00 19.70 2.60 1.29 0.19 0.16 2.42 0.20 0.31 0.16 3.27 15.77 0.27 20.82 0.243 0.26 0.13 0.74 2.47 0.40 4.11 13.57 0.17 28.39 1.59 2.94 0.32 2.80 5.12 7.93 0.24 0.40 1.29 4.60 10.21 2.75 24.75 1.24 31.95 0.36 2.89 2.49 1.53 4.91 0.23

0.86 9.88

0.66

0.24 0.27 0.21

0.37 0.29 12.56 1.06 0.14 11.22 2.25 0.76 0.51 1.54 6.11 1.81 40.69 0.40 2.41 0.70 0.51 2.07 0.66 3.05 0.45 0.60

25.42 21.37 0.45 1.82

0.37 0.45 0.28

0.21 0.22

0.13 0.34

0.50 0.23 0.08 0.71

0.49

0.96

R. Giordani et al. / Fitoterapia 79 (2008) 199203 Table 2 (continued) Compound a Origanum majorana (g) Origanum majorana (h) Rosmarinus officinalis (i)

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Artemisia herba (j)

Concentration (% peak area) cis-Calamene 1s Hydroxy germacra-1(10),5-diene (4 beta) N-Tridecanol 1-Hexadecene Caryophyllene oxide 0.24 0.22 0.18 0.30 0.37 0.13 0.58 0.08

Collected from: g, Guigueba (Guelma); h, Taoudjnia (Guelma); i, Annaba; j, Ichemoul (Batna). a Compounds listed in order of elution; only compounds 0.08% are reported.

Table 3 Antifungal activity of essential oils on C. albicans Essential oil Thymus numidicus (Berrahal) Thymus numidicus (Khedara) Origanum majorana (Guigueba) Origanum majorana (Touadjnia) Thymus ciliatis (Djebel Ansel) Rosmarinus officinalis (Annaba) Thymus vulgaris (Souk aharas) Artemisia herba (Ichemoul) Thymus algeriensis (Khedara) Thymus algeriensis (Fatoum souda) Amphotericin B MIC 80% (g/ml) 0.000479 0.000632 1.564 1.590 1.669 2.208 3.710 5.617 11.379 18.037 0.650

T. numidicus is possible. Such efficiency may be promising for a medical utilization of this oil alone or in combination with antifungal drugs. Acknowledgments We are indebted to Mrs. C. Mikal and Miss L. Abou for the technical assistance. We thank Dr. Azzedine Chefrour (Laboratoire de Botanique Mdicale, Dpartement de Pharmacie, Facult de Mdecine, Universit Badji Mohktar, BP 205, Annaba, Algrie) for supplying and identifying the plant material. References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Hammer KA, Carson CF, Riley TVJ. Appl Micobiol 1999;86:985. Jansen AM, Scheffer JJC, Bacrheim Svendsen A. Planta Med 1987;53:395. Panizzi L, Flamini G, Cioni PL, Morelli I. J Ethnopharmacol 1993;39:167. Adams RP. Identification of essential oil components by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Carol Stream (IL): Allured; 1995. Espinel-Ingroff A, Pfaller MA. Antifungal agents and susceptibility testing. In: Murray PR, Baron EJ, Pfaller MA, Tenover FC, Yolken RH, editors. Manual of clinical microbiology. Washington DC: ASM Press; 1995. [6] Giordani R, Buc J, Regli P. Mycoses 2002;45:482. [7] Giordani R, Regli P, Kaloustian J, Mikal C, Abou L, Portugal H. Phytother Res 2004;18:990.