In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Iris pseudacorus and Urtica dioica

In this study, the effects of antibacterial activity of Urtica dioica and Iris pseudacorus essential oils, native plant northern of Iran, were investigated for some selected bacteria. The influence of essential oils was tested by the using of disk diffusion and micro-broth dilution methods against standard strains of the picked out bacteria. Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS) analysis, bioactivity determination, Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of essential oils were utilized for this goal. This study showed that, Inhibition zone diameter varied from 11 to 19 mm and 9 to 17 mm for Urtica dioica and Iris pseudacorus respectively. In contrast, this figure fluctuated from 19 to 28 mm and 7 to 17 mm for gentamicin and ampicillin separately. By the application of micro-broth dilution technique, MICs for 1% essential oils were 1.8-7.5 μg/ml and 3.75-15 μg/ml for, Urtica dioica and Iris pseudacorus against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria individually. Furthermore, the MBCs of herbal essences were 1.8-15 μg/ml for, Urtica dioica and 15-30 μg/ml for Iris. The application of essential oils for the bio-control of diseases, as a novel emerging alternative to antimicrobial treatments, lead to safer and more environmental management for infective diseases.