Antimicrobial effects of essential oils of Artemisia annua, Mentha longifolia, and Vitex agnus-castus and their nanoemulsions against pathogenic microbes causing cattle mastitis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Chemistry of Natural and Microbial Products Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt

2 Microbiology and Immunology, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Postal code 12622, Egypt

3 Chemistry of Natural Compounds Department, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth Street, Dokki,Giza 12622, Egypt

4 Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Department, National Research Centre, 12622 Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

Cattle mastitis is one of the most common problems affecting the global economy. The main objectives of this study were: (i) assessing the antimicrobial activities of essential oils (EOs) from Artemisia annua, Mentha longifolia, and Vitex agnus-castus, and their nanoemulsions, against mastitis-associated pathogens, and (ii) identifying the chemical components of these EOs. Eucalyptol (15.34%), artemisia ketone (9.59%), and endo-borneol (8.24%) were found to be the main components of A. annua EO; pulegone (37.37%), isomenthone (32.03%), and eucalyptol (20.61%) were the major constituents of M. longifolia EO; cuminic aldehyde (66.15%) and 2-caren-10-al (6.65%) were the main compounds in V. agnus-castus EO. The EOs were assessed against the growth of the bacteria Citrobacter diversus, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus as well as the fungi Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei, and Candida albicans. We found that the three EOs were most potent against P. vulgaris, S. aureus, and E. coli,with a significant activity against the other strains as well. The EOs also showed significant antifungal activities against all the five Candida strains, with V. agnus-cactus EO being the most potent. The EO nanoemulsions were found to be more active than the pure oils against all the microbes tested. Our results clearly demonstrate the potential of these EOs and their nanoemulsions as antimicrobial agents.

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