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Background Helicobacter pylori can cause many gastrointestinal and also extra-gastrointestinal disorders and is a major risk factor for gastric carcinoma and MALT lymphoma. Currently, numerous antibiotic-based therapies are available; however, these therapies have numerous drawbacks, mainly due to increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel therapeutic agents against H. pylori infections. Materials and Methods In this study, the anti- H. pylori activity of 2:1 mixture of Satureja hortensis and Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum essential oils (2 MIX) was investigated in vivo. After screening in vitro cytotoxicity of 2 MIX on mammalian cell lines, the therapeutic efficiency was studied in a mouse model, where changes in H. pylori colonization were detected by PCR and histology of gastric samples. The immune reaction of mice was tested based on cytokine and chemokine production, and the in vivo toxicity of 2 MIX was also investigated by measuring ALT and AST enzyme activities and Cyp3a11 and HO-1 mRNA levels in livers of mice. Results 2 MIX had not shown in vitro cytotoxicity against cell lines, only the highest concentration caused significant decrease in their survival rates. In the in vivo experiments, 2 MIX successfully eradicated the pathogen in 70% of the mice. We could not detect toxicity or altered cytokine and chemokine balance after in vivo treatments in mice. Conclusions These results show that 2 MIX is effective in reducing H. pylori colonization suggesting that this essential oil mixture has great potential as a new, effective, and safe therapeutic agent against H. pylori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The quantity and quality of essential oils in plants can be influenced by various factors, including genetic traits, agricultural practices and environmental conditions such as nutrient availability. Macronutrients such as sulfur (S) are among the major factors influencing plant growth and development. Therefore this study was carried out to determine the effect of S fertilization at three levels (0, 0.05 and 0.1 g S kg−1 soil) on the essential oil composition and antioxidant activity of Satureja hortensis L. RESULTS Application of 0.05 g S kg−1 soil increased the levels of α-terpinene, p-cymene, myrcene, α-thujene and α-pinene but decreased the level of γ-terpinene in the essential oil. This S application was most suitable for obtaining higher proportions of α-terpinene, p-cymene, myrcene, α-thujene and α-pinene, while application of 0.1 g S kg−1 soil was preferable for carvacrol. γ-Terpinene was most abundant in the control. All extracts showed a considerable DPPH-inhibitory effect, with IC50 ranging from 0.720 g L−1 in the control to 0.363 g L−1 with application of 0.1 g S kg−1 soil. The maximum antioxidant effect was observed with application of 0.1 g S kg−1 soil. CONCLUSION The results revealed that the use of chemical fertilizers such as S could improve the antioxidant activity of plant extracts significantly. Studying the secondary plant metabolites, mainly essential oils, is an interesting research area, so further studies are recommended to determine the effect of chemical fertilizers on the composition and antioxidant activity of essential oils of other aromatic plants. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The antifungal activity of essential oils of sweet basil ( Ocimum basilicum L.), fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), summer savory ( Satureja hortensis L.) and thyme ( Thymus vulgaris L.) against two well-known postharvest fungi, Penicillium digitatum and Rhizopus stolonifer, by poison food medium (0, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1,000 µL/L) and vapor phase (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 40 µL) methods were assayed. The results showed that in poison food medium thyme oil had greatest antifungal activity against P. digitatum and R. stolonifer at 1,000 and ≥600 µL/L, respectively. In vapor phase, thyme oil at ≥5 µL completely inhibited the mycelial growth of pathogens. Summer savory oil at ≥600 µL/L had a significant inhibitory effect on mycelial growth of R. stolonifer. Fennel oil showed the lowest antifungal activity against the pathogens. All the essential oil treatments completely inhibited the growth of R. stolonifer in vapor phase method. Also R. stolonifer were more sensitive against the essential oils. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that main compounds identified in sweet basil, fennel, summer savory and thyme oils were linalool (65.25%), trans-anethole (64.42%), carvacrol (54.14%) and β-ocimene (12.62%), respectively. Therefore, thyme and summer savory oils have a promising potential to use antifungal agent against fruit and vegetable fungi. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The results of this work show that thyme, summer savory and fennel oils have a high potential to be used as an antifungal agents for control of postharvest phytopatogenic fungi especially in vapor phase method. Therefore, essential oils as safe aromatic compounds that do have not negative effects on human health and environment may be used as a novel and practical tool for preservation of postharvest quality of horticultural crops and are suitable alternative for synthetic fungicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antifungal activity of Thymus daenensis and Satureja hortensis essential oils (EOs) (0, 50, 100, and 150 ppm) were evaluated against Aspergillus fumigatus in vitro and in the Food model system (un‐heat and heat‐treated Doogh) during 21 days. In vitro results showed that minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration of T. daenensis and S. hortensis oils were 6.25 and 12.5%, respectively. In un‐heat treated samples, both EOs showed a significant inhibitory effects rather than the control group at 25 °C than 4 °C. Treatments containing 100 and 150 ppm of T. daenensis EO on the 21st day and treatment containing 50 ppm of S. hortensis EO on the 15th day had maximum inhibitory effect. No growth was observed in the heat‐treated samples and control group. The findings revealed that both EOs had noticeable antifungal activity and can be considered as a natural preservative in the food industry. Practical applications: Doogh is a traditional Iranian dairy‐based drink which is the same as other dairy fermented products prone to fungal contamination. As a result, application of chemical and synthetic preservatives is common to control microbial growth and increase the shelf life. But, due to their harmful side effects, much research has been being conducted to find a suitable substitute like plant EOs, as natural preservatives in the food industry. This study assessed the antifungal activity of T. daenensis and S. hortensis EOs and their potential applications in food model system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]