Antibacterial activity of essential oil and extracts of Achillea tenuifolia against pathogenic bacteria

Chemical drugs have many side-effects, and for this reason, the approach of using medicinal plants and traditional medicine, has increased. Achillea tenuifolia is a plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. In this research, the antibacterial properties of essential oil and methanol, ethanol, chloroform, and acetone extracts of Achillea tenuifolia, were investigated against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus faecalis bacteria.
In this experimental study, Achillea tenuifolia flowers and leaves, were collected from Ghoroghchi mountain pass in Meymeh township in May 2014 and were dried in shadow. Flower and leaf essential oil was prepared using Clevenger apparatus. The methanol and ethanol extracts of the plant, were prepared using Soxhlet apparatus and the chloroform and acetone extracts, were prepared by maceration method. Antibacterial activity of the essential oil and the extracts was evaluated by well diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), were determined by microdilution method. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney post-hoc tests. The significance level was considered to be p In this study, the essential oil of Achillea tenuifolia flowers and leaves showed antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus faecalis at the concentrations of 20-50% (p The results of this study showed that essential oil of Achillea tenuifolia flowers and leaves has antibacterial activity, and the prepared extracts had no antibacterial properties.