Antimicrobial Activity an Physicochemical Characterization of Extracts and Fractions of Rosmarinus officinalis and Origanum vulgare

Rosmarinus officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) is a shrubby woody with bittersweet taste, used in chips, broths, desserts, cookies, jams, fruit salads, and marmalades. Origanum vulgare L. (Lamiaceae) is a small plant used in meats, salads, soups, rice, potatoes and boiled eggs, as well as for perfuming and flavoring oils. Both have medicinal and aromatic properties. The aims of this study were: characterize, standardize herbal drugs, crude ethanol extracts and concentrated extracts of R. officinalis and O. vulgare, determine the polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids content; quantify the rosmarinic acid; evaluate the antimicrobial activity of rosmarinic acid, extracts, fractions of R. officinalis and O. vulgare against foodborne and clinical strains. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the broth microdilution method. The hexane and dichloromethane fractions of R. officinalis and O. vulgare and rosmarinic acid exhibited good inhibitory activity against some Gram-positive bacteria and food isolates. Ethyl acetate fraction of R. officinalis, concentrated extract, and fractions of O. vulgare and rosmarinic acid presented good inhibitory activity against Cryptococcus. These fractions have promising potential in the control of food pathogens and they can be used in the future as an alternative natural preservative in the industry.