3.2. “In vitro” experiments
3.2.1. Agar disk diffusion assay
Table 2 shows the antimicrobial inhibition zones, including the
diameter (6 mm) of the paper disk, of the five EOs, meropenem and DMSO, against the eight tested microorganisms. Thymus was the
most effective EO: the inhibition diameters of 75% and 100% (v/v)
concentrations were larger than 20 mm on all the bacteria tested.
Furthermore, the diameters of all EO dilutions were larger than
9 mm (Ponce et al. 2003). Thymus showed the highest activity
against all tested microorganisms. Inhibition diameters measured
on meropenem were often larger than EO ones, with significant
differences (P < 0.05), while DMSO did not influence bacterial
growth.