Major Compounds from Ocimum Basilicum l. and their Antimicrobial Activity against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Abstract

Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum Linn.) has a variety of therapeutic properties, including antimicrobial activity. This study aimed to determine the antibacterial activity of the major chemical components in the crude extract against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from the clinical specimens. TLC and column chromatography resulted in the separation of two major compounds. On the basis of the spectral data, they were identified as linalool (1) and 1,8-cineole (2). Antibacterial activity of crude extract and isolated compounds was evalusted by disc diffusion, MIC and MBC against 9 multi-drug resistance S. aureus isolated from clinical specimens. The crude extract and isolated compounds exhibited an excellent antimicrobial activity at a dose level of 34.5 mg/disc for disc diffusion method. The crude extract and linalool showed higher activity against tested MRSA with MIC (<0.09 mg/ml) and MBC (≤ 0.09 to 0.38 mg/ml) than 1,8-cineole. The results suggest once again that the antimicrobial activity of the crude extract and major isolated compounds, linalool and 1,8-cineole are a resultant of the antibacterial property against MRSA.