Chemical constituents and antibacterial activity of the essential oil from Epilobium hirsutum

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/07/2015
Views (222) Download (5)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Chemical constituents and antibacterial activity of the essential oil from Epilobium hirsutum

Ehsan Eghmazi, Mohammad Reza Akhgar, Ashraf Kariminik
J. Bio. Env. Sci.7( 1), 338-344, July 2015.
Certificate: JBES 2015 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

Epilobium species have been traditionally used as medicinal plants for centuries. The present work studies the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oil of Epilobium hirsutum L. from Iran. The essential oil of the aerial parts of the plant was extracted by hydrodistillation method and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Thirty-two compounds were identified in the essential oil, representing 99.8% of the total oil. The most abundant component was pulegone, constituting 74.6% of the oil. Furthermore, antibacterial activity of the oil was investigated using the disc diffusion method, with determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), against four bacterial including Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli. The essential oil exhibited in vitro antibacterial activity against all tested bacterial strains. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of the oil on the growth of S. aureus, B. cereus, S. enterica, and E. coli were 3.1, 3.1, 50 and 25%, respectively. Conclusively, E. hirsutum can be considered as an herbal antibacterial agent.

VIEWS 2

Adams RP. 2004. Identification of Essential Oil Components by Gaschromatography/Quadrupole Mass Spectroscopy. Allured, Carol Stream, IL, USA.

Akhgar MR, Shariatifar M, Akhgar AR, Moradalizadeh M, Faghihi-Zarandi A. 2012. Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the leaf essential oil from Hertia intermedia. Chemistry of Natural Compounds 48, 329-331.

Alim A, Goze I, Cetin A, Atas AD, Vural N, Donmez E. 2009. Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Cyclotrichium niveum (Boiss.) Manden. et Scheng. African Journal of Microbiology Research 3, 422-425.

Bakkali F, Averbeck S, Averbeck D, Idaomar M. 2008. Biological effects of essential oils – a review. Food and Chemical Toxicology 46, 446-475. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2007.09.106

Barakat HH, Hussein SAM, Marzouk MS, Merfort I, Linscheid M, Nawwar MAM. 1997. Polyphenolic metabolites of Epilobium hirsutum. Phytochemistry 46, 935-941. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00370-1

Bartfay  WJ,  Bartfay  E,  Johnson  JG. 2012. Gram-negative and Gram-positive antibacterial properties of the whole plant extract of Willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium). Biological Research  for Nursing 14, 85-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1099800410393947

Battinelli L, Tita B, Evandri MG, Mazzanti G. 2001. Antimicrobial activity of Epilobium spp. extracts. Il Farmaco 56, 345–348.

Borchardt JR, Wyse DL, Sheaffer CC, Kauppi KL, Fulcher RG, Ehlke NJ, Biesboer DD, Bey RF. 2008. Antimicrobial activity of native and naturalized plants of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 2, 98-110.

Burt  S.  2004.  Essential  oils:  their  antibacterial properties  and  potential  applications  in  foods  –  a review. International  Journal  of  Food  Microbiology 94, 223–253. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2004.03.022

Duru ME, Oztürk M, Uğur A, Ceylan O. 2004. The constituents of essential oil and in vitro antimicrobial activity of Micromeria cilicica from Turkey. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 94, 43-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2004.03.053

Flamini G, Cioni PL, Puleio R, Morelli I, Panizzi L. 1999. Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Calamintha nepeta and its constituent pulegone against bacteria and fungi. Phytotherapy Research 13, 349–351.

Granica S, Piwowarski JP, Czerwińska ME, Kiss AK. 2014. Phytochemistry, pharmacology and traditional uses of different Epilobium species (Onagraceae): a review. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 156, 316–346. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2014.08.036

Hevesi  BT,  Houghton  PJ,  Habtemariam  S, Kéry Á. 2009. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of Epilobium parviflorum Schreb. Phytotherapy Research 23, 719-724.

Jürgenson S, Matto V, Raal A. 2012. Vegetational variation of phenolic compounds in Epilobium angustifolium. Natural Product Research 26, 1951-1953. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2011.643310

Kiss  AK,  Bazylko  A,  Filipek  A,  Granica  S, Jaszewska E, Kiarszys U, Kośmider A, Piwowarski J. 2011. Oenothein Bʼs contribution to the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of Epilobium sp. Phytomedicine 18, 557-560.

Klancnik A, Pishernik S, Jersek B, Mozina SS. 2010. Evaluation of diffusion and dilution methods to determine the antibacterial activity of plant extracts. Journal of Microbiological Methods 81, 121–126. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2010.02.004

Kosalec I, Kopjar N, Kremer D. 2013. Antimicrobial activity of Willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium L.) leaves and flowers. Current Drug Targets 14, 986-991. http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/13894501113149990177

Kunduhoglu B, Pilatin S, Caliskan F. 2011. Antimicrobial screening of some medicinal plants collected from Eskisehir, Turkey. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin 20, 945–952.

Mann CM, Cox SD, Markham JL. 2000. The outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCTC 6749 contributes to its tolerance to the essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree oil). Letters in Applied Microbiology 30, 294-297.

Marinković B, Marin PD, Knezević-Vukcević J, Soković MD, Brkić D. 2002. Activity of essential oils of three Micromeria species (Lamiaceae) against micromycetes and bacteria. Phytotherapy research 16, 336-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ptr.893

Massada Y. 1976. Analysis of Essential Oils by Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Moosazadeh E, Akhgar MR, Kariminik A. 2014. Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Opuntia stricta F. essential oil. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences 4, 94-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2013.0089

Mozaffarian V. 2006. A Dictionary of Iranian Plant Names. Farhang Moaser, Tehran, Iran, 203-204 p..

Nalubega R, Kabasa JD, Olila D, Kateregga J. 2011. Evaluation of antibacterial activity of selected ethnomedicinal plants for poultry in Masaka district, Uganda. Research Journal of Pharmacology 5, 18-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.3923/rjpharm.2011.18.21

Ozturk S, Ercisli S. 2006. The chemical composition of essential oil and in vitro antibacterial activities of essential oil and methanol extract of Ziziphora persica Bunge. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 106, 372-376.

Pakravan  S,  Hajimoradloo  A,  Ghorbani  R. 2012. Effect of dietary willow herb, Epilobium hirsutum extract on growth performance, body composition, haematological parameters and Aeromonas hydrophila challenge on common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Aquaculture Research 43, 861-869.

Pourmorad F, Ebrahimzadeh MA, Mahmoudi M, Yasini S. 2007. Antinociceptive activity of methanolic extract of Epilobium hirsutum. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 10, 2764-2767.

Sonboli A, Mirjalili MH, Hadian J, Nejad Ebrahimi S, Yousefzadi M. 2006. Antibacterial activity and composition of the essential oil of Ziziphora clinopodioides subsp. bungeana (Juz.) Rech. f. from Iran. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung 61c, 677-680.

Steenkamp V, Gouws MC, Gulumian M, Elgorashi EE, Van Standen J. 2006. Studies on antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of herbal remedies used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 103, 71-75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2005.07.007

Tita B, Abdel-Haq H, Vitalone A, Mazzanti G, Saso L. 2001.  Analgesic  properties  of  Epilobium angustifolium, evaluated by the hot plate test and the writhing test. Il Farmaco 56, 341–343.

Tóth BH, Blazics B, Kéry Á. 2009. Polyphenol composition and antioxidant capacity of Epilobium species. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis 49, 26-31.

Vitali F, Fonte G, Saija A, Tita B. 2006. Inhibition of intestinal motility and secretion by extracts of Epilobium spp. in mice. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 107, 342–348.

Vitalone A, Bordi F, Baldazzi C, Mazzanti G, Saso L, Tita B. 2001. Anti-proliferative effect on a prostatic epithelial cell line (PZ-HPV-7) by Epilobium angustifolium L. Il Farmaco 56, 483-489.