Stimulation of soil microbial activity by essential oils

Although essential oils are well known antimicrobial agents, some microorganisms are activated by them and can use them as a carbon and energy source; this is the case for soil bacteria from Mediterranean ecosystems. We examined the assumption that soil microorganisms when offered with an essential oil, to which they had been previously exposed, would respond faster making immediate use of the newly added substrate. Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Mentha spicata, and Coridothymus capitatus plants were collected and their essential oils isolated. Soil samples from the upper surface layer, beneath these aromatic plants, were also collected. All possible combinations of essential oils and soil samples were examined as well as the effect of the oil of R. officinalis and the non-indigenous, Lavandula angustifolia, on soil samples collected from cultivated fields. Soil respiration was used as a measure of the microbial activity. Oils (0.1 ml) were repeatedly added to the soil samples (150 g) and CO2 release was measured every seven days. Essential oils differed in their chemical composition. In spite of that, they activated respiration of the different soil samples, even of those not previously exposed to essential oils, to a comparable degree. These results suggest that essential oils are used as a carbon and energy source by rather ubiquitously occurring soil microorganisms and provide evidence that they would not accumulate in the soil, if environmental conditions favour growth of these microorganisms.