Composition and antimicrobial activity of Achillea clavennae L. essential oil

Abstract

The volatile constituents of Achillea clavennae L. (Asteraceae), rare plant of Europe, have been analysed using GC/MS. Twenty‐five components making up 81.6% of the oil were characterized with camphor (29.5%), myrcene (5.5%), 1,8‐cineole (5.3%), β‐caryophyllene (5.1%) and linalool (4.9%) being the major constituents. The essential oil was evaluated for antibacterial and antifungal activities. The screening of the antimicrobial activity of essential oil was conducted by a disc diffusion test against Gram‐positive (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis), Gram‐negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis) and fungal organisms (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans). The activity was more pronounced against Gram‐negative and fungal organisms than against Gram‐positive bacteria. A. clavennae oil was found to possess antimicrobial activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and all fungal organisms. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.