Carvacrol-rich Thymus capitatus essential oil as a potential antimicrobial agent against aquatic and foodborne bacteria
Aquatic Research, cilt.9, sa.3, ss.202-210, 2026 (Scopus, TRDizin)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 9 Sayı: 3
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.3153/ar26017
- Dergi Adı: Aquatic Research
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.202-210
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Aquatic bacteria, Biopreservation, Disk diffusion, Green Deal, Phytochemicals
- Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The rising rates of antimicrobial resistance, as well as the need for sustainable preservation strategies, have renewed interest in plant-derived antimicrobial agents. In this study, the chemical composition and antibacterial properties of Thymus capitatus essential oil (Tc EO) were evaluated. Furthermore, the antibacterial activities of carvacrol, the main component of the essential oil, and thymol, a major phenolic compound commonly found in Thymus species, were investigated against a total of 32 bacterial strains. Gram-negative bacteria such as Aeromonas spp., Vibrio spp., Pseudomonas spp., and members of Enterobacteriaceae, as well as Gram-positive bacteria, including Bacillus spp. and lactic acid bacteria (LAB), were evaluated, along with reference (ATCC) strains obtained from aquatic and food-related sources. The GC-MS analysis showed that Tc EO was dominated by a carvacrol-rich chemotype (62.35%), along with considerable amounts of p-cymene and γ-terpinene. All of these tested compounds showed considerable antibacterial activity; their inhibition zone sizes were predominantly above 20 mm. Gram-positive bacteria showed high susceptibility to Tc EO and its phenolic derivatives. In contrast, slightly lower inhibition zones were found in enteric bacteria, particularly Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Citrobacter freundii. However, fish-associated bacteria belonging to the species Aeromonas, Vibrio, and Flavobacterium, such as Aeromonas hydrophila, Edwardsiella tarda, Vibrio anguillarum, and Flavobacterium spartansii, showed high sensitivity to Tc EO and its phenolic derivatives. Of particular interest is that strain-specific differences between environmental isolates and reference strains, like Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, were found. These results indicate that Tc EO and its phenolic components may be considered a promising candidate for further investigation in food preservation and aquaculture applications.