Andrea Böszörményi

Tracking and identification of antibacterial components in the essential oil of Tanacetum vulgare L. by the combination of high-performance thin-layer chromatography with direct bioautography and mass spectrometry

Two tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) essential oils were obtained by steam distillation of the capitula with subsequent liquid-liquid extraction (oil 1) or with use of an auxiliary phase for the trapping of the steam components (oil 2). These oils were investigated against Bacillus subtilis F1276, B. subtilis spizizenii (DSM 618), Xanthomonas euvesicatoria, Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola, Ralstonia solanacearum strain GMI1000 and Aliivibrio fischeri, using the coupling of high-performance thin-layer chromatography to direct bioautography (HPTLC-DB). Using this method with the potato and tomato pathogen R. solanacearum is shown for the first time. Due to the advanced extraction process, oil 2 was richer in components and provided more inhibition zones. The main bioactive components were identified by scanning HPTLC-Direct Analysis in Real Time mass spectrometry (HPTLC-DART-MS) and solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography electron impact MS (SPME-GC-EI-MS) as cis- and trans-chrysanthenol as well as trans-chrysanthenyl acetate. cis-Chrysanthenol exhibited antibacterial effects against all tested bacteria, whereas trans-chrysanthenol inhibited B. subtilis, R. solanacearum and A. fischeri. trans-Chrysanthenyl acetate was an inhibitor for X. euvesicatoria, R. solanacearum and A. fischeri. Although HPTLC-DART-MS resulted in a comparable fragmentation, the ionization characteristics and the recorded mass spectra clearly showed that DART is a softer ionization technique than EI. It is also more affected by ambient conditions and thus prone to additional oxidation products.

Bioassay-Guided Isolation and Identification of Antimicrobial Compounds from Thyme Essential Oil by Means of Overpressured Layer Chromatography, Bioautography and GC–MS

A simple method is described for efficient isolation of compounds having an antibacterial effect. Two thyme (Thymus vulgaris) essential oils, obtained from the market, were chosen as prospective materials likely to feature several bioactive components when examined by thin layer chromatography coupled with direct bioautography as a screening method. The newly developed infusion overpressured layer chromatographic separation method coupled with direct bioautography assured that only the active components were isolated by means of overrun overpressured layer chromatography (OPLC) with on-line detection and fractionation. Each of the 5 collected fractions represented one of the five antimicrobial essential oil components designated at the screening. The purity and the activity of the fractions were confirmed with chromatography coupled with various detection methods (UV, vanillin–sulphuric acid reagent, direct bioautography). The antibacterial components were identified with GC–MS as thymol, carvacrol, (−)-linalool, diethyl-phthalate, and α-terpineol. The oil component diethyl-phthalate is an artificial compound, used as a plasticizer or detergent base in the industry. Our results support that exploiting its flexibility and the possible hyphenations, OPLC is especially attractive for isolation of antimicrobial components from various matrixes.

Investigation of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) essential oil by use of the BioArena system

The composition of the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris L. has been determined by GC-FID and GC-MS. Because separation of thymol, carvacrol, and linalool, components of the essential oil, was more efficient by overpressured layer chromatography (OPLC) than by conventional thin-layer chromatography (TLC), the forced flow technique was used before biological detection. All three test compounds had antibacterial effect against the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola, in bioautography, although in essential oil thymol was present in sufficient quantity to produce an inhibiting zone in the adsorbent layer. In BioArena investigations, when reduced glutathione as a formaldehyde (HCHO) capturer was dissolved in the cell suspension before bioautographic exposure to the essential oil, the characteristic inhibiting activity of thymol and carvacrol against Bacillus subtilis soil bacteria was reduced, whereas the presence of the HCHO precursors NG-monomethyl-l-arginine or Nε-monomethyl-l-lysine enhanced their antibacterial effect. These results suggest that HCHO and its reaction products may be involved in the antibacterial activity of thymol and carvacrol.

Effect-Directed Discovery of Bioactive Compounds Followed by Highly Targeted Characterization, Isolation and Identification, Exemplarily Shown for Solidago virgaurea

A nontargeted, effect-directed screening (bioprofiling) and a subsequent highly targeted characterization of antibacterial compounds from plant matrices is demonstrated on the example of Solidago virgaurea root extracts. The procedure comprises high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) coupled with six bacterial bioassays including two plant pathogens, a radical scavenging assay, an acetylcholinesterase assay as well as in situ and ex situ mass spectrometric analyses. In situ mass spectra were directly recorded from the adsorbent using the Direct Analysis in Real Time interface (HPTLC-DART-MS), whereas ex situ mass spectra were recorded using an elution head-based interface (HPTLC-ESI-MS). For further bioassay-guided isolation of the main antimicrobial compounds, flash chromatographic fractionation and semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatographic purification were used and nuclear magnetic resonance data allowed the identification of the unknown antimicrobial compounds as 2Z,8Z- and 2E,8Z-matricaria esters. The discovered antibacterial activity was confirmed and specified by a luminometric assay and as minimal inhibitory concentration in the liquid phase.

Detection of antibacterial activity of essential oil components by TLC-bioautography using luminescent bacteria

The aim of the present study was the chemical characterization of some medically relevant essential oils (tea tree, clove, cinnamon bark, thyme, and eucalyptus) and the investigation of antibacterial effect of the components of these oils by use of a direct bioautographic method. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was combined with biological detection in this process. The chemical composition of the oils was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Eucalyptol (84.2%) was the main component of the essential oil of eucalyptus, eugenol (83.7%) of clove oil, and trans-cinnamic aldehyde (73.2%), thymol (49.9%), and terpinen-4-ol (45.8%) of cinnamon bark, thyme and tea tree oils, respectively. Antibacterial activity of the separated components of these oils as well as of their pure main components (eucalyptol, eugenol, trans-cinnamic aldehyde and thymol) was observed against the Gram-negative luminescence gene-tagged plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (Psmlux) and the Gram-negative, naturally luminescent marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri. On the whole, the antibacterial activity of the essential oils could be related to their main components, but the minor constituents may be involved in this process. trans-Cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol were the most active compounds in TLC-bioautography. The sensitivity of TLC-bioautographic method can be improved by using luminescent test bacteria. This method is more cost-effective and provides more reliable results in comparison with conventional microbiological methods, e.g., disc-diffusion technique.

In-situ clean-up and OPLC fractionation of chamomile flower extract to search active components by bioautography

Bioassay-guided isolation of antibacterial components of chamomile flower methanol extract was performed by overpressured layer chromatography (OPLC) with on-line detection, fractionation combined with sample clean-up in-situ in the adsorbent bed after off-line sample application. The antibacterial effect of the eluted fractions and of those compounds remaining on the adsorbent layer after separation was tested with direct bioautography (DB) against the bioluminescent Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. maculicola and Vibrio fischeri. The fractions with high biological activity were analyzed by solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) and liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Two active uneluted compounds were characterized by off-line OPLC-MS using a thin-layer chromatography (TLC)-MS interface. Mainly, essential oil components, coumarins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and fatty acids were identified in the active fractions.

Antimicrobial and Virulence-Modulating Effects of Clove Essential Oil on the Foodborne Pathogen Campylobacter jejuni

ABSTRACT Our study investigated the antimicrobial action of clove (Syzygium aromaticum) essential oil (EO) on the zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. After confirming the clove essential oils general antibacterial effect, we analyzed the reference strain Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11168. Phenotypic, proteomic, and transcriptomic methods were used to reveal changes in cell morphology and functions when exposed to sublethal concentrations of clove EO. The normally curved cells showed markedly straightened and shrunken morphology on the scanning electron micrographs as a result of stress. Although, oxidative stress, as a generally accepted response to essential oils, was also present, the dominance of a general stress response was demonstrated by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). The results of RT-PCR and two-dimensional (2D) PAGE revealed that clove oil perturbs the expression of virulence-associated genes taking part in the synthesis of flagella, PEB1, PEB4, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and serine protease. Loss of motility was also detected by a phenotypic test. Bioautographic analysis revealed that besides its major component, eugenol, at least four other spots of clove EO possessed bactericidal activity against C. jejuni. Our findings show that clove EO has a marked antibacterial and potential virulence-modulating effect on C. jejuni. IMPORTANCE This study demonstrates that the components of clove essential oil influence not only the expression of general stress genes but also the expression of virulence-associated genes. Based on this finding, alternative strategies can be worked on to control this important foodborne pathogen.

Antifungal Effect of Essential Oils against Fusarium Keratitis Isolates

The present study was carried out to investigate the antifungal effects of Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Citrus limon, Juniperus communis, Eucalyptus citriodora, Gaultheria procumbens, Melaleuca alternifolia, Origanum majorana, Salvia sclarea, and Thymus vulgaris essential oils against Fusarium species, the most common etiologic agents of filamentous fungal keratitis in South India. C. zeylanicum essential oil showed strong anti-Fusarium activity, whereas all the other tested essential oils proved to be less effective. The main component of C. zeylanicum essential oil, trans-cinnamaldehyde, was also tested and showed a similar effect as the oil. The in vitro interaction between trans-cinnamaldehyde and natamycin, the first-line therapeutic agent of Fusarium keratitis, was also investigated; an enhanced fungal growth inhibition was observed when these agents were applied in combination. Light and fluorescent microscopic observations revealed that C. zeylanicum essential oil/trans-cinnamaldehyde reduces the cellular metabolism and inhibits the conidia germination. Furthermore, necrotic events were significantly more frequent in the presence of these two compounds. According to our results, C. zeylanicum essential oil/trans-cinnamaldehyde provides a promising basis to develop a novel strategy for the treatment of Fusarium keratitis.