Abstract
Monthly quantitative and qualitative changes in the essential oils of Thymus capitatus, growing wild in Sardinia, were studied over the two years 1987-1988, and their antimycotic activity against Penicillium italicum and Aiternaria alternata was examined. Maximum oil yield occurred in August, but depended upon whether leaves, flowers or residual infructescences were used. Of the eight constituents identified, the biogen- etically related carvacrol, p-cymene and y-terpinene showed changes related to the different growth stages of the season, with carvacrol levels at a maximum (70-80%) before and until after flowering (April-September); the flowers and residual infructescence contained more than the leaves. The oil proved to be fungistatic to P. italicum and fungicidal at 400 ppm to A. alternata in August 1987 and 1988. Fungitoxic effects were mainly due to carvacrol, but not always in proportion to its content in the oil.
Keywords
CarvacrolEssential oilFungicideThymolHorticultureBiologyBotanyPenicillium italicumLimonene
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
In-vitro antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of Sardinian Thymus essential oils
Essential oils and their components are becoming increasingly popular as naturally occurring antimicrobial agents. In this work the chemical composition and the antimicrobial pr...
GC-MS Analysis of Essential Oils from Some Greek Aromatic Plants and Their Fungitoxicity on <i>Penicillium digitatum</i>
The isolated essential oils from seven air-dried plant species were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Thymus vulgaris (thyme), Origanum vulgare (oregano)...
Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activities of Two Aromatic Plants:<i>Origanum majorana</i>L. and<i>O. compactum</i>Benth.
ABSTRACT The essential oils obtained by steam distillation of Origanum compactum and O. majorana, which were grown in Morocco, were examined by gas chromatography to determine t...
Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia
Melaleuca alternifolia has been used for medical purposes since Australia was colonized in 1788. Melaleuca alternifolia is commonly called tea tree, although this vernacular nam...
Antimicrobial activity of the major components of the essential oil of <i>Melaleuca alternifolia</i>
Tea tree oil, or the essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia , is becoming increasingly popular as a naturally occurring antimicrobial agent. The antimicrobial activity of eight...
Publication Info
- Year
- 1992
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 67
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 197-202
- Citations
- 53
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
53
OpenAlex
Cite This
G. Arras,
G. E. Grella
(1992).
Wild thyme,<i>Thymus capitatus</i>, essential oil seasonal changes and antimycotic activity.
Journal of Horticultural Science
, 67
(2)
, 197-202.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00221589.1992.11516237
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1080/00221589.1992.11516237