The antimicrobial activities of these ethanol extracts depended mainly on the bacterial target. They were weak against gram-negative VTEC, while their effects against C. jejuni, S. aureus, and L. monocytogenes correlated with their TPH and chemical compositions. | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Research Article Turk J Agric For (2018) 42: 185-194 © TÜBİTAK doi: Antioxidative and antibacterial properties of organically grown thyme (Thymus sp.) and basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) 1 1 1 2 3 Helena ABRAMOVIČ , Veronika ABRAM , Anja ČUK , Barbara ČEH , Sonja SMOLE MOŽINA , 1 2 1, Mateja VIDMAR , Martin PAVLOVIČ , Nataša POKLAR ULRIH * 1 Chair of Biochemistry and Chemistry of Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia 2 Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing, Žalec, Slovenia 3 Chair of Biotechnology, Microbiology, and Food Safety, Department of Food Science and Technology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: The biomass per plant and total phenolics (TPH) of ethanol extracts of 3 species of thyme, Thymus vulgaris, T. serpyllum, and T. citriodorus, and 3 varieties of basil (Ocimum basilicum), Genovese, Thai, and Cinnamon, were investigated. All were grown organically. The 2 herbs that showed the greatest biomass were T. citriodorus ( g/plant) and O. basilicum var. Cinnamon (105 g/ plant). For these, total flavonoids (TFL), total flavones and flavonols (TFF), and total flavanones and dihydroflavonols (TFDH) were also determined for their ethanol extracts. Furthermore, the antioxidant potential (AOP) and antibacterial activity were determined against foodborne bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni, and verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC). The highest TPH (36 mg chlorogenic acid equivalents per gram of fresh weight) was seen for T. citriodorus collected in 2010. The thyme ethanol extracts contained more TPH and TFL, and their subgroups of TFF and TFDH, than the ethanol extracts from basil, and had
