a review of anti-microbial effects and chemical composition of thymus fedtschenkoi

The emergence of drug resistance against antibiotics, which makes it difficult to treat some infections, has propelled researchers look for new compounds with anti-microbial properties. medicinal plants are among the sources being used to produce new anti-microbial compounds. anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties have been identified in natural compounds isolated from different species of thymus such as essential oils. thymus fedtschenkoi grows in türkiye, caucasus and iran, and is one of the native species of thymus in iran. thymol and carvacrol have been reported as major components of the essential oil of t. fedtschenkoi, and sometimes linalool and terpinyl acetate are also mentioned as main components (1). thymus fedtschenkoi as a medicinal plant is traditionally used in the treatment of common colds and respiratory infections as an additive and flavor in several traditional iranian foods and herbal teas. according to the studies, although there is a substantial difference in the chemical composition of the extract from different segments of t. fedtschenkoi, they exhibit similar, yet significant anti-bacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. this highlights the importance of t. fedtschenkoi and its essential oil in traditional medicine for the treatment of various bacterial infections and justifies its major application as an additive and flavor in numerous traditional iranian foods and herbal teas (2). in conclusion, natural compounds isolated from t. fedtschenkoi such as essential oils have been shown to have significant anti-microbial effects on various types of microorganisms.