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. 2021 May 14;26(10):2931.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26102931.

Multidisciplinary Studies of Folk Medicine "Five Thieves' Oil" (Olejek Pięciu Złodziei) Components

Przemysław Siejak  1 , Wojciech Smułek  2 , Farahnaz Fathordobady  3 , Anna Grygier  4 , Hanna Maria Baranowska  1 , Magdalena Rudzińska  4 , Łukasz Masewicz  1 , Małgorzata Jarzębska  5 , Piotr T Nowakowski  6 , Aleksandra Makiej  2 , Pardis Kazemian  7 , Paweł Drobnik  8 , Barbara Stachowiak  4 , Maciej Jarzębski  1 , Anubhav Pratap-Singh  3
Affiliations

Multidisciplinary Studies of Folk Medicine "Five Thieves' Oil" (Olejek Pięciu Złodziei) Components

Przemysław Siejak et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

To meet the growing interest in natural antibacterial agents, we evaluated the physicochemical and biological properties of the folk medicine known as "five thieves' oil" (Polish name: olejek pięciu złodziei). Five thieves' oil consists of a mixture of five oils: rosemary, lemon, clove, eucalyptus, and cinnamon. In this study, we performed gas chromatography, FTIR, and UV-vis spectroscopic analysis, as well as L-a-b color tests, contact angle determination, and surface tension determination. To verify its antibacterial activity, the metabolic activity and changes in cell membrane permeability of bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas were studied. As a result, it was found that among the constituent oils, the oils of clove and cinnamon were the least volatile and, at the same time, had the strongest antibacterial activity. However, a mix of all the oils also showed comparable activity, which was even more pronounced for the oils after 4 weeks of aging. This effect can be linked to the high content of terpene derivatives such as eugenol and cinnamaldehyde, which can cause changes in bacterial membrane permeability, affecting cell activity and survival. This study is the first to characterize the constituents of the popular folk medicine five thieves' oil, confirming and explaining its strong antibacterial activity, thus constituting a significant contribution to contemporary health education.

Keywords: Pseudomonas; antibacterial activity; essential oils; health education; spectrometry; terpenes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
FTIR spectra of the examined oils.
Figure 2
Figure 2
UV–vis spectra of the examined oils.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Fluorescence patterns and representative fluorescence emission spectra of the examined oils.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Camera image (in the middle) and microscopic images (around) of the EOs and the oil mix.
Figure 5
Figure 5
L*a*b* color space diagram of the oils.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Refractive index of the oils. The different small letters indicate groups of the results that differ statistically significantly.
Figure 7
Figure 7
(A) EO droplets during surface tension measurements. (B) EO contact angle, surface tension, and droplet volumes values.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Changes in bacteria cell metabolic activity in (A) fresh oils, and (B) oils after 4 weeks. The different small letters indicate groups of the results that differ statistically significantly.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Changes in bacteria cell membrane permeability in (A) fresh oils, (B) oils after 4 weeks. The different small letters indicate groups of the results that differ statistically significantly.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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