The chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil of salvia fruticosa growing wild in Libya

Abstract

The composition of essential oil isolated from Salvia fruticosa, wild growing in Libya, was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Forty-five compounds could be identified. The essential oil contained 1,8-cineole (49.34%), camphor (7.53%), ß-pinene (7.38%), myrcene (7.38%), a-pinene (5.15%), ß-caryophyllene (4.13%) and a-terpineol (3.25). Antioxidant activity was analyzed using the DPPH free radical scavenging method and low antioxidant activity was found (IC50 = 15.53 mg/ml). The oil was also screened for its antimicrobial activity against eight bacteria (four Gram-negative and four Gram-positive) and eight fungi. The essential oil of S. fruticosa showed minimal inhibitory activity (MIC) at 0.125-1.5 mg/ml and bactericidal (MBC) at 0.5-2.0 mg/ml. In addition, it exhibited fungistatic (MIC) at 0.125-1.0 mg/ml and fungicidal effect (MFC) at 0.125-1.5 mg/ml.