Study of chemical composition and antimicrobial properties of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) essential oil on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in vitro

Abstract

Nowadays, with increasing bacterial resistance, finding new antimicrobial agents to replace herbal remedies with less side effects than conventional drugs has provided. The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical composition and antimicrobial properties of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) essential oil on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in vitro. In this experimental study, rosemary was prepared from Tabriz city and the essential oil was extracted after drying by water distillation using Clevenger apparatus. The essential oil components were identified by Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Essential oil of 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25, 0.625 and 0.312% of essential oil was used to determine minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Based on the results of GC-MS analysis, 19 compounds were identified, of which 1.8 Cineole and α-pinen had the highest essential oil composition. MIC and MBC of essential oils were obtained on S. aureus (0.625 and 1.25%) and E. coli (1.25 and 2.5%), respectively. The results of this study showed that rosemary essential oil has remarkable antibacterial activity and can be used as a suitable replacement for synthetic antibiotics.