Background:
Microbial resistance to antibiotics and their adverse effects related
to these antibiotics are a matter of global public health in the 21th century. The emergence of
drug-resistant strains, has gained the interest of the scientists to discover new antimicrobial
agents from the essential oil of medicinal plants.
Methods:
Anti-mycobacterial effects of Trachyspermum copticum and Pelargonium graveolens
essential oils were determined against multi-drug resistant clinical strains of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, Mycobacterium kansasii, Mycobacterium fortuitum and standard
strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv by a Broth micro-dilution method. Pelargonium
graveolens plant named Narmada was discovered by Kulkarni R.N et al. (Patent ID,
USPP12425P2) and a formulation comprising thymol obtained from Trachyspermum is useful
in the treatment of drug-resistant bacterial infections (Patent ID, US6824795B2). The
chemical composition of hydro-distilled essential oils was determined by GC and GC-MS.
Results:
Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values for T. copticum essential oil
against tested isolates were ranged from 19.5 µg/mL to 78 µg/mL. The least minimum inhibitory
concentration of P. graveolens extract against M. Kansasii and MDR-TB was
78 µg/ml.
Conclusion:
The results of the present research introduced T. copticum and P. graveolens
essential oils as a remarkable natural anti-mycobacterial agent, but more pharmacological
studies are required to evaluate their efficacy in animal models.
The Chemical Composition and Anti-mycobacterial Activities of Trachyspermum copticum and Pelargonium graveolens Essential Oils
