Étude in vitro de l'activité antimicrobienne des huiles essentielles de Salvia officinalis L, Laurus nobilis L et Thymus vulgaris L sur les agents responsables des infections vaginales chez la femme

Abstract

Vaginal infections constitute a major public health concern due to their high prevalence and the increasing emergence of resistance to conventional antimicrobial agents. In this context, essential oils derived from medicinal plants have attracted growing interest because of their diverse biological properties. The present study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of essential oils extracted from Thymus vulgaris, Salvia officinalis, and Laurus nobilis. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and steam distillation. Antimicrobial activity was assessed against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp., E. coli, and Candida albicans using the agar diffusion method (aromatogram), followed by determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC). Antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH radical scavenging assay. The results revealed extraction yields of 3.1524%, 1.888%, and 0.42% for the essential oils of T. vulgaris, S. officinalis, and L. nobilis, respectively. Furthermore, the tested microbial strains exhibited variable sensitivity depending on the essential oil used. T. vulgaris demonstrated the strongest antimicrobial activity, with inhibition zones ranging from 32 to 65 mm and predominantly bactericidal and fungicidal effects. S. officinalis and L. nobilis exhibited moderate antimicrobial activities, with inhibition diameters ranging from 6 to 16 mm and 5 to 12 mm, respectively. Regarding antioxidant activity, L. nobilis showed the highest activity with an IC50 value of 82.26 μg/ml, followed by T. vulgaris (161.25 μg/ml) and S. officinalis (1504.41 μg/ml). This study highlights the therapeutic potential of the essential oils investigated for the management of vaginal infections. However, further research, particularly in vivo studies and clinical trials, is essential to evaluate their safety and confirm their therapeutic efficacy before clinical application.