Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of the leaves of Cupressus macrocarpa Hartweg. ex Gordon

Abstract

Qualitative (GC-MS) and quantitative (GC-FID) analyses of the essential oil (EO) isolated from the leaves of Cupressus macrocarpa revealed the presence of fifteen components, and representing 86.43% of the total oil composition. Their identification was based on their retention times and mass spectral fragmentation patterns. a-terpineol (19.01%), camphenilone (9.78%), elemol (8.92%), 2-tridecanone (8.75%), a-terpinyl acetate (8.62%), 2-pentyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one (6.90%) and β-bisabolol (5.83%) represent major components. Agar diffusion method was conducted to test the antimicrobial activity of the EO against eight pathogenic strains, including gram positive (+ve) and negative (-ve) bacteria and fungi. The obtained results showed inhibition zones with 10.5-21mm diameters, compared to Streptomycin and Nystatin.