Effectiveness of Thymus vulgaris Essential Oil in the Treatment of Skin Infections in Dogs

Currently, there are no data in the literature on the topical treatment with Thymus vulgaris essential oil (EO) in bacterial skin infections of dogs. This study evaluates the effectiveness of Thymus vulgaris EO for topical use in dogs with skin 18 half-breed dogs, affected by skin infections housed in a rescue shelter were studied. The bacteria isolated from these dogs were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. The susceptibility of the isolated microorganisms to Thymus vulgaris L. EO was estimated in vitro by bacteriological test (CLSI 2015), in comparison to some antimicrobials drugs (amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, doxycycline, thiamphenicol and marbofloxacin) and to Citrus bergamia EO. The dogs, divided in two groups at random, were treated topically for 7 days with Thymus vulgaris L. EO (Group 1: n. 10 animals) and Citrus bergamia Risso e Poiteau EO (Group 2: n. 8 animals) respectively. The bacteria isolated were: Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (7 samples), Staphylococcus sciuri (4), ESBL Escherichia coli (3) and Proteus mirabilis (4). In all animals treated with Thymus vulgaris EO, the clinical signs decreased rapidly within 5 days from the administration, with complete remission 7 days after the treatment. No bacterial growth was observed from skin swabs after 7 days of treatment. None of the treated animals showed local or general side effects. The use of Thymus vulgaris EO could be a possible alternative or additional treatment to antibiotics in dermatological infections, particularly in cases refractory to conventional therapy.