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Antifungal activity of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) essential oil and thymol against moulds from damp dwellings

  1. M. Šegvić Klarić1,
  2. I. Kosalec1,
  3. J. Mastelić2,
  4. E. Piecková3,
  5. S. Pepeljnak1

Article first published online: 14 SEP 2006

DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-765X.2006.02032.x

Issue

Letters in Applied Microbiology

Letters in Applied Microbiology

Volume 44, Issue 1, pages 36–42, January 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Šegvić Klarić, M., Kosalec, I., Mastelić, J., Piecková, E. and Pepeljnak, S. (2007), Antifungal activity of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) essential oil and thymol against moulds from damp dwellings. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 44: 36–42. doi: 10.1111/j.1472-765X.2006.02032.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

  2. 2

    Department of Organic Chemistry and Natural Products, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Split, Croatia

  3. 3

    Institute of Preventive and Clinical Medicine, Slovak Medical University, Bratislava, Slovakia

*Maja Šegvić Klarić or I. Kosalec, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Schrottova 39, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia. E-mail: msegvic@pharma.hr

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 14 SEP 2006
  2. Article first published online: 14 SEP 2006
  3. 2006/0537: received 18 April 2006, revised 31 July 2006 and accepted 1 August 2006

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Keywords:

  • antifungal activity;
  • damp walls;
  • moulds;
  • thyme essential oil;
  • thymol

Abstract

Aims:  To characterize antifungal activities of essential oil of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) and pure thymol, as comparative substance, on different mould species isolated from damp dwellings.

Methods and Results:  Fifty samples of wall scrapes were collected from damp dwellings in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. The members of the following mould genera were recovered from the samples: Aspergillus (44%), Penicillium (18%) Alternaria, Ulocladium, Absidia and Mucor (8%) Cladosporium, Trichoderma and Rhizopus (6%), and Chaetomium (2%). Two strains of Stachybotrys chartarum were isolated from damp dwellings in Slovakia. Antifungal activities of the thyme essential oil, which contains p-cymene (36.5%), thymol (33.0%) and 1,8-cineole (11.3%) as main components, and pure thymol were determined by the dilution method and exposure to vaporous phase of the oil. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of both thymol and essential oil were bellow 20 μg ml−1, except for Mucor spp. (50.20 μg ml−1). Thymol exhibited approximately three-times stronger inhibition than essential oil of thyme. The vaporous phase of the thyme essential oil (82 μg l−1) in glass chambers strongly suppressed the sporulation of moulds during 60 days of exposure.

Conclusion:  The thyme essential oil possesses a wide range spectrum of fungicidal activity. The vaporous phase of the oil exhibited long-lasting suppressive activity on moulds from damp dwellings.

Significance and Impact of the Study:  Essential oil of thyme and thymol could be used for disinfection of mouldy walls in the dwellings in low concentration.

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