Evaluation of Chemical Compounds and Antibacterial, Antibiofilm, and Antioxidant Activities of Satureja khuzestanica eEssence and Extracts

In the past decades, problems in treating infections caused by resistant pathogenic bacteria were coupled with an increased focus on herbal active ingredients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-biofilm, antibacterial and antioxidant effects of S. khuzestanica and to determine its chemical composition.

Satureja khuzestanika leaf was prepared from the Natural Resources Center of Isfahan Province. The antibacterial effect of extracts and essential oils was determined by well diffusion method and their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were determined by microdilution method on Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. The antioxidant activity was also investigated by measuring the reduction of radical capacity. The chemical composition of the plant was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The MIC of methanolic extract and essential oil of S. khuzestanica were 12.5 and 31.25 mg/ml for S. aureus, respectively. In all cases, there was a direct relationship between the diameter of the growth inhibition zone and the concentrations of the plant extracts. The essential oil of the plant at a concentration of 50 mg/ml inhibited 100% of the biofilm production of both bacteria. Essential oil also had the highest antioxidant activity with 86% inhibition of DPPH. The level of antioxidant activity of extracts showed a significant increase with increasing the concentrations (P < 0.001). Carvacrol with 32.61% was the main compound of S. khuzestanica and then Cymene, Terpinene and Bisabolone was more than other compounds.

The results showed that S. khuzestanika essential oil and extracts have antibacterial effect against S. aureus and antibiofilm effect on S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. This plant contains compounds with antimicrobial activity and antioxidant properties.