a systematic review of the effects of satureja khuzestanica jamzad and zataria multiflora boiss against pseudomonas aeruginosa

Background: the use of antibiotics is common, but its excessive or improper use leads to antibiotic resistance. consequently, scientists have been interested in exploring traditional medicine to identify a new source of anti-bacterial agents. the present study aimed to conduct a systematic review to determine the anti-bacterial activity of satureja khuzestanica jamzad (skj) and zataria multiflora boiss (zm) essential oils against pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro. methods: a comprehensive literature search for studies published on skj and zm was carried out. various keywords (s. khuzestanica, marzeh-e-khuzestani, z. multiflora, z. multiflora boiss; avishane- shirazi, shirazi thyme, thymol, carvacrol; p. aeruginosa, iran, antibacterial effect; traditional medicine, phytomedicine, herbal medicine) were used to search both international and iranian databases (google scholar, science direct, web of science, medline; pubmed, scopus, cochrane library, academic search; journal storage, magiran, irandoc, scientific information database (sid), and iranmedex). the selected articles were published during 2000-2017 and were written in english or persian. results: seventeen articles were included in the review. the main ingredients of skj and zm plants were carvacrol and thymol. the potential anti-bacterial activity of essential oils from these plants was confirmed. the carvacrol content, as the major active ingredient of skj was between 38.33-97.89%. the major ingredients of zm were carvacrol (16.8-82.7%) followed by thymol (25.70-64.87%). the minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) value of skj and zm essential oils against bacterial strains was in the range of 0.31-450 and 2-8,000 μg/ml, respectively. conclusion: the present review study confirmed the antibacterial activity of skj and zm, particularly against pseudomonas in vitro.