Chemical compositions and antifungal activities of Satureja macrosiphon against Candida and Aspergillus species

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Despite the various applications of Satureja species, there are limited data in this domain. Regarding this, the present study was conducted to investigate the essential oil (EO) biological activity of S. macrosiphon species in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The EO of S. macrosiphon flowers was obtained by hydrodistillation. Chemical compositions of the EO were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In addition, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were measured by means of the broth microdilution method. The estimation of antibiofilm and cytotoxic activities was also accomplished using the tetrazolium salt and MTT assays, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 26 components were identified in the EO with linalool as the main constituent (28.46%). A MIC range value of 0.25-8 μL/mL was obtained against all of the tested fungi. The EO inhibited the biofilm development of the Candida tested strains at a concentration of 4-8 μL/mL. Cytotoxicity (IC(50)) of EO against the HeLa cell was greater than the MIC concentration (6.49 μL/mL). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, it was concluded that the EO of S. macrosiphon has the potential for further use as an antifungal agent.