TY - JOUR
T1 - Plants belonging to the genus Thymus as antibacterial agents
T2 - From farm to pharmacy
AU - Nabavi, Seyed Mohammad
AU - Marchese, Anna
AU - Izadi, Morteza
AU - Curti, Valeria
AU - Daglia, Maria
AU - Nabavi, Seyed Fazel
PY - 2015/4/15
Y1 - 2015/4/15
N2 - In traditional medicine, plants have been used since ancient times for the prevention and/or protection against infectious diseases. In recent years, the use of herbal medicines and food supplements containing botanical ingredients, as alternative therapy for infectious diseases, has been intensified due to their high content of antimicrobial agents such as polyphenols, i.e. flavonoids, tannins, and alkaloids. Plants from the genus Thymus are important medicinal herbs, which are known to contain antimicrobial agents, and are rich in different active substances such as thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene and terpinene. In this review, we summarise the available literature data about the in vitro antibacterial effects of the main plants belonging to the genus Thymus. We also provide information about cultivation, chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from these plants, and their use for medicinal purposes.
AB - In traditional medicine, plants have been used since ancient times for the prevention and/or protection against infectious diseases. In recent years, the use of herbal medicines and food supplements containing botanical ingredients, as alternative therapy for infectious diseases, has been intensified due to their high content of antimicrobial agents such as polyphenols, i.e. flavonoids, tannins, and alkaloids. Plants from the genus Thymus are important medicinal herbs, which are known to contain antimicrobial agents, and are rich in different active substances such as thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene and terpinene. In this review, we summarise the available literature data about the in vitro antibacterial effects of the main plants belonging to the genus Thymus. We also provide information about cultivation, chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from these plants, and their use for medicinal purposes.
KW - Antibacterial activity
KW - Carvacrol
KW - Essential oils and extracts
KW - Genus thymus plants
KW - Thymol
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84908520874&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84908520874&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.10.042
DO - 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.10.042
M3 - Article
C2 - 25466031
AN - SCOPUS:84908520874
VL - 173
SP - 339
EP - 347
JO - Food Chemistry
JF - Food Chemistry
SN - 0308-8146
ER -