Antibacterial and antioxidant activity and essential oil composition of Grammosciadium scabridum Boiss. from Iran

The in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activity of the essential oil and its two main components of Grammosciadium scabridum Boiss. (Apiaceae) growing wild in Iran, as well as the composition of its essential oil were studied. A total of 19 compounds representing 99.9% of the oil has been identified. Gamma-Terpinene (73.5%), p-cymene (14.2%) and (E)-beta-farnesene (5.3%) were characterized as the main components. The oil showed remarkable activity against three Gram-negative and four Gram-positive test bacteria, with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 0.31 to 10.00 mg/ml. The oil and its two main components were also subjected to screening for their possible antioxidant activity by using the 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The free radical scavenging capacity of the oil was determined with an IC50 value of 6.6 mg/ml.     

Composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Dicyclophora persica Boiss. from Iran

The chemical composition of the essential oil of Dicyclophora persica Boiss. was identified by GC and GC-MS analysis. The analysis of the oil resulted in the identification of forty-five components constituting 98.6% of the total oil. The main constituents were a-pinene (31.5%), (Z)-beta-ocimene (23.3%), p-cymene (6.7%) and (E)-beta-ocimene (5.4%). The antimicrobial activity of the oil was tested by the disk diffusion method against four Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Enterococcus faecalis) and three Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria together with a fungus (Aspergillus niger). The oil showed strong inhibition activity toward all the tested microorganisms except for Pseudomonas aeruginosa.     

Antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of the essential oil of Nepeta crispa Willd. from Iran

The composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Nepeta crispa Willd., an endemic species from Iran, was studied. The oil was obtained from the aerial parts of the plant and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Twenty-three compounds, accounting for 99.8% of the total oil, were identified. The main constituents were 1,8-cineol (47.9%) and 4aalpha,7alpha,7abetanepetalactone (20.3%). The antimicrobial activity of essential oil of N. crispa was tested against seven gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria and four fungi. The results of the bioassays showed the interesting antimicrobial activity, in which the gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, were the most sensitive to the oil. Also, the oil exhibited a remarkable antifungal activity against all the tested fungi.     

Antibacterial activity and composition of the essential oil of Ziziphora clinopodioides subsp. bungeana (Juz.) Rech. f. from Iran

The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the aerial flowering parts of Ziziphora clinopodioides subsp. bungeana (Juz.) Rech. f. was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Thirty-two components representing 97.1% of the total oil were identified. Oxygenated monoterpenes (94.3%) were the predominant fraction of the oil with pulegone (65.2%), isomenthone (11.9%), 1,8-cineole (7.8%) and piperitenone (6.5%) as the main constituents. Antibacterial activity of the oil and also its two main components (pulegone and 1,8-cineole) were tested against seven bacteria. It was found that the oil exhibited interesting antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. aureus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis with MIC values of 3.75 mg/ml.     

Antimicrobial activity and composition of the essential oil of Gontscharovia popovii from Iran

The aerial parts of Gontscharovia popovii (B. Fedtsch. and Gontsch.) Boriss. were collected at full flowering stage. The essential oil was isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by a combination of capillary GC and GC-MS. Thirty-one components were identified with the main constituent being carvacrol (71.9%), followed by linalool (5.5%), p-cymene (4.5%) and gamma-terpinene (4.4%). The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of G. popovii was studied against seven Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and three fungi (Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Aspergillus niger). The results of the bioassays showed that the oil exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against all the tested fungi and bacteria except for the resistant bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa.     

Studies on the chemical composition and biological activity of essential oil from Cyperus rotundus Linn.

The sesquiterpene caryophyllene in its alcohol form has been identified for the first time from the essential oil of the tubers of Cyperus rotundus Linn. The structure of the alcohol has been identified by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Bioefficacy of the oil and its hydrocarbon, ketonic and alcoholic fractions is reported for maize and mungbean.     

Antimicrobial activity, essential oil composition and micromorphology of trichomes of Satureja laxiflora C. Koch from Iran

The antimicrobial activity, essential oil composition and micromorphology of trichomes of Satureja laxiflora C. Koch, a native plant from Iran, were studied. The essential oil was obtained from the aerial parts at the flowering stage by hydrodistillation, and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Thirty-three compounds representing 99.1% of the total oil were characterized. The major compounds were thymol (63.9%) and gamma-terpinene (11.9%) followed by carvacrol (4.8%), p-cymene (3.9%), geraniol (3.2%) and geranyl acetate (3.1%). Furthermore, the essential oil and its three main components were tested against two bacteria and three fungi. The result of the bioassays has been shown that the oil possesses potent antimicrobial property. Chemical studies confirmed that a major portion of this antimicrobial activity is due to thymol present in the oil. Micromorphological analysis by SEM of both vegetative and reproductive organs revealed the presence of abundant sessile capitate and sparse short-stalked glandular trichomes along with retrorse eglandular hairs, giving useful diagnostic characters for identification of this medicinal plant.     

Antibacterial activity of Ocimum gratissimum L. essential oil.

The essential oil (EO) of Ocimum gratissimum inhibited Staphylococcus aureus at a concentration of 0.75 mg/ml. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for Shigella flexineri, Salmonella enteritidis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., and Proteus mirabilis were at concentrations ranging from 3 to 12 microg/ml. The endpoint was not reached for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (>=24 mg/ml). The MICs of the reference drugs used in this study were similar to those presented in other reports. The minimum bactericidal concentration of EO was within a twofold dilution of the MIC for this organism. The compound that showed antibacterial activity in the EO of O. gratissimum was identified as eugenol and structural findings were further supported by gas chromatography/mass spectra retention time data. The structure was supported by spectroscopic methods.     

Chemical composition and biological activity of the essential oils of Senecio aegyptius var. discoideus Boiss

The essential oil of Senecio aegyptius var. discoideus flowers, leaves, stems and roots were isolated by hydrodistillation. Analysis of the oils by capillary GLC and GLC-mass spectrometry were performed and 34 out of 37 compounds were identified. The main component was isolated and characterized as 1,10-epoxyfuranoeremophilane using a combination of GLC, GLC-MS, and NMR analyses. The oils of flowers, leaves and stems were rich in monoterpene hydrocarbons while the root oil mainly contains furanoeremophilanes. Flower and leaf volatile oils showed significant level of antifungal activity against C. albicans, moderate effect against Gram positive bacteria, however, it has weak activity against Gram negative bacteria. The isolated sesquiterpene (1,10-epoxyfuranoeremophilane) exhibited substantial inhibitory activity against Gram negative bacteria.     

Antibacterial activity and chemical composition of Turkish propolis

The antibacterial activities of propolis samples have been examined in vitro, according to the principles accepted for the determination of a similar activity of antibiotics with the use of solid and liquid media. It has been found that propolis extracts showed antibacterial activity through a range of commonly encountered gram positive cocci (S. aureus, beta hem. Streptococus), but had weak activity against gram negative bacteria (E. coli, P. aeruginosa). GC/MS analysis showed that propolis samples contain a variety of chemical compounds including aromatic compounds, fatty acid esters and sesquiterpenes.     

Evaluation of chemical composition and antiedematogenic activity of the essential oil of Hyptis martiusii Benth

Evaluations of the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants and their components have been the subject of many studies. Furthermore, the biological activities of various plant species have been reported in various pieces of literature. Hyptis martiusii Benth (Lamiaceae), popularly known as “mad balm” is commonly found in the North, Southeast, and Northeast of Brazil. Its leaves are used ethnobiologically as antiulcerogenic, antimicrobial, antitumor and as insecticide. This study aimed to analyze the chemical composition of the essential oil of H. martiusii Benth (OEHM) by GC/MS as well as its possible topical activity as an antiedematogenic. This is verified by the models of ear edema induced by single (acute edema) and multiple (chronic edema) applications of croton oil topically, and systemically verified through the model of paw edema induced by carrageenan 1%. Doses of 50, 75 and 100 mg/kg OEHM were used in all tests. Chemical analysis of the oil revealed the 1,8-cineole (34.58%) and δ-carene (21:58%) as major components present in the essential oil. On the model of ear edema, acute and chronic OEHM in all the tested doses showed no significant antiedematogenic activity (p < 0.05). The systemic model of paw edema induced by carrageenin showed that a dose of 100 mg/kg effectively reduced swelling by 55.37% in the second hour evaluation when compared to the saline group. The anti-inflammatory systemic effect can give greater bioavailability of the components present in the essential oil and your interference in cytokines and leukotriene, thromboxane and prostaglandin biosynthesis. It is therefore concluded that OEHM presents systemic antiedematogenic activity but not topical activity at these doses.     

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oil from Artemisia feddei

The chemical components of the essential oil from Artemisia feddei LEV. et VNT. were analyzed using GC-MS. Ninety-nine compounds, accounting for 96.23% of the extracted essential oil, were identified. The main oil compounds were 1,8-cineole (16.86%), chamazulene (9.04%), alpha-terpineol (8.18%), alpha-phellandrene (5.78%), alpha-thujone (5.51%), alpha-terpinyl acetate (5.07%), borneol (5.08%), beta- caryophyllene (4.71%), camphor (4.04%), and terpinen-4-ol (3.04%). The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and some of its compounds was tested against 15 different genera of oral bacteria. The essential oil from A. feddei had a considerable inhibitory effect on all the obligate anaerobic bacteria tested (MICs, 0.025 to 0.05 mg/ml; MBCs, 0.025 to 0.1mg/ml), whereas the major compounds demonstrated different degrees of growth inhibition.     

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Satureja hortensis L. essential oil

Essential oil of Satureja hortensis L. was analyzed by GC and GC/MS and tested by a broth micro-well dilution method for activity against multiresistant clinical isolates of pathogenic bacteria from 10 different genera: Klebsiella, Escherichia, Proteus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Enterococcus, Enterobacter, Citrobacter and Acinetobacter. The main compounds in the oil were carvacrol (67%), γ-terpinene (15.3%) and p-cymene (6.73%). The oil showed activity against all tested strains. MIC/MBC values were in the range of 0.78-25 μl/ml, with the exception of the strain P. aeruginosa. Microbicidal concentration for this particular strain (50 μl/ml) was the highest tested concentration. The oil showed inhibitory and bactericidal effect at the same concentration (MIC=MBC) for all but three strains.     

Antibacterial activity of the essential oil from Rosmarinus officinalis and its major components against oral pathogens

The essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary) was obtained by hydro-distillation and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Sixty-two constituents were identified, representing 98.06% of the total oil content. Oxygenated monoterpenes were the predominant components. The rosemary oil was characterized as having prominent (> 5%) contents of camphor (18.9%), verbenone (11.3%), a-pinene (9.6%), beta-myrcene (8.6%), 1,8-cineole (8.0%), and beta-caryophyllene (5.1%). The antimicrobial activity of the oil as well as of its major constituents was tested against the following microorganisms: Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus sobrinus, and Enterococcus faecalis, which are potentially responsible for the formation of dental caries in humans. The microdilution method was used for determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) during evaluation of the antibacterial activity. The essential oil displayed low activity against the selected microorganisms. In the present study, the pure major compounds were more active than the essential oil. Among all the microorganisms tested, the pathogen S. mitis was the most susceptible and E. faecalis was the most resistant to the evaluated samples. This is the first report on antimicrobial activity of the major components of rosemary oil against oral pathogens.     

Spasmolytic activity of essential oil and various extracts of Ferula gummosa Boiss. on ileum contractions

Traditional herbal medicines such as Ferula gummosa Boiss. have been used for treatment of intestinal disorders in Iran. To date no pharmacological evidence for their effectiveness has been reported. The aim of this study was to examine the relaxant effect of essential oil, hydro-alcoholic, etheric, petrolic and methanolic extracts of Ferula gummosa and two of its components, alpha-pinene and beta-pinene, on isolated rat ileum contractions induced by KCl and acetylcholine (ACh). Ferula gummosa essential oil (FGEO) and hydro-alcoholic, etheric, petrolic and methanolic extracts all inhibited the response to 80 mM KCl in a concentration-dependent manner and attenuated the maximum attainable response of the ACh concentration-response curve. Although the effect of etheric extract on ACh contractions was less than that of petrolic extract, the overall order of effectiveness on the weight basis was the etheric, petrolic, methanolic, and hydro-alcoholic extracts, and the essential oil, respectively. A mixture of etheric and petrolic extracts together had a similar effect on KCl response to etheric extract was used alone. Alpha-pinene and beta-pinene both exhibited inhibitory effect on the contraction of rat ileum, but the inhibitory effect of beta-pinene on KCl contraction was more pronounced. The inhibitory effect of a mixture of these two compounds was, however, less than the sum of their separate effects. When a mixture of alpha-pinene and beta-pinene together were examined on the ileum, without presence of the spasmogen, they initially caused contraction of the tissue, while neither of them used alone caused a noticeable contraction of the ileum. This study shows that Ferula gummosa essential oil and its various extracts are relaxant of rat isolated ileum and that at least part of their inhibitory effect is due to alpha-pinene and beta-pinene components. As the inhibition of contractile over-activity of the ileum is the basis of the treatment of some gastero-intestinal disorders such as diarrhea, Ferula gummosa may have clinical benefits for treatment of this condition.     

Insecticidal activity and chemical composition of the essential oil of Artemisia vestita from China against Sitophilus zeamais

In our screening program for new agrochemicals from local wild plants, essential oil of Artemisia vestita Wall (Asteraceae) was found to possess strong insecticidal activity against maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motsch. Essential oil of aerial parts of A. vestita was obtained from hydrodistillation and was investigated by GC and GC–MS. The main components of essential oil were grandisol (40.29%), 1,8-cineol (14.88%) and camphor (11.37%). The essential oil of A. vestita possessed strong fumigant toxicity against S. zeamais adults with a LC₅₀ value of 13.42 mg/L air. The essential oil of A. vestita also showed contact toxicity against S. zeamais adults with a LD₅₀ value of 50.62 mg/adult.     

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil from cones of Pinus koraiensis

The essential oil from the cones of Pinus koraiensis was prepared after removing the seeds, and its chemical composition analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Hydrodistillation of the P. koraiensis cones yielded 1.07% (v/w) of essential oil, which was almost three times the amount of essential oil extracted from the needles of the same plant. Moreover, the antimicrobial activities of the oil against the growth of Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi were evaluated using the agar disc diffusion method and broth microdilution method. Eighty-seven components, comprising about 96.8% of the total oil, were identified. The most abundant oil components were limonene (27.90%), alpha-pinene (23.89%), beta-pinene (12.02%), 3-carene (4.95%), beta-myrcene (4.53%), isolongifolene (3.35%), (-)-bornyl acetate (2.02%), caryophyllene (1.71%), and camphene (1.54%). The essential oil was confirmed to have significant antimicrobial activities, especially against pathogenic fungal strains such as Candida glabrata YFCC 062 and Cryptococcus neoformans B 42419. Therefore, the present results indicate that the essential oil from the cones of Pinus koraiensis can be used in various ways as a nontoxic and environmentally friendly disinfectant.     

Norsesquiterpene hydrocarbon, chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Rhaponticum carthamoides root essential oil

A detailed analysis of Rhaponticum carthamoides (Willd.) Iljin root essential oil was carried out by GC, GC-MS and GC-FTIR techniques. In total, 30 components were identified, accounting for 98.0% of total volatiles. A norsesquiterpene 13-norcypera-1(5),11(12)-diene (22.6%), followed by aplotaxene (21.2%) and cyperene (17.9%), were isolated and their structures confirmed by 1D and 2D-NMR spectra (COSY, ROESY, HSQC, HMBC and INADEQUATE). Selinene type sesquiterpenes and aliphatic hydrocarbons were among minor constituents of the essential oil. The oil exhibited antimicrobial activity against 5 of 9 strains of bacteria and yeast, when tested using broth micro-dilution method. Minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged between 32 and 256 μg/ml.     

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oil of Drimys granadensis L.f. leaves from Colombia

Drimys granadensis L.f., a native plant from Colombia, has been included in the Vademecum de Plantas Medicinales de Colombia by the Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, due to its widespread use in the folk medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal ailments. The chemical composition of the essential oil of Drimys granadensis obtained by hydrodistillation of the leaves was analyzed by GC and GC/MS analyses. A total of 85 components were identified, with the major compounds germacrene D (1, 14.7%), sclarene (9.5%), a-cadinol (7.3%), longiborneol acetate (2, 6.3%), drimenol (4.2%), (Z)-β-ocimene (3, 4.2%), a-pinene (4, 3.2%), and β-elemene (5, 2.7%). The essential oil was also tested against eight bacteria using the Kirby-Bauer disk-diffusion method. Most of the Gram-positive bacteria tested were susceptible to the D. granadensis essential oil, while the Gram-negative bacteria tested were not.     

石荠苧精油的GC-MS分析及其抑菌活性的研究

利用水蒸汽蒸馏法提取石荠芋（Mosla scabra（Thunb．）C．Y．Wu et H．W．Li]精油,得油率为1．2％。采用GC—MS方法分析了该挥发油的化学组成,检测到125个峰,共鉴定出其中67个化学成分并测定其相对含量。占总含量的95．25％。其中,（R）侧柏酮（26．11％）、（M）侧柏酮（13．66％）、石竹烯（8．89％）、桉叶油素（7．99％）、（R）-α-石竹烯（6．45％）、芹菜脑（5．43％）和β-荜澄茄油烯（4．51％）为主要成分。体外抑菌实验表明,该精油对7种供试细菌均有抑制作用,对金黄色葡萄球菌（Staphylococcus aureus Roenbach）、普通变形杆菌（Proteasv ulgarisHauser）、甘薯青枯假单胞菌（Ralstonia soanacearum E．F．Smith）、大肠杆菌（Esckrichia coli Castellani et Chalmers）和短小芽孢杆菌（Bacillus pumilus Meyer et Gottheil）的最低抑菌浓度（MIC）为2％,对枯草芽孢杆菌（Bacillus subtilis Cohn）和藤黄八叠球菌（Sarcina lutea Schroeter）的MIC为1％。