Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Bunium persicum Boiss. seed

In order to study chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Bunium persicum Boiss., the seeds of this plant, which grows in Kerman Province in Lalehzar Mountains around of Kerman city, were collected in June 2006. The essential oil yield, obtained by hydro distillation from seeds, was 4.2%. The oil was analyzed by capillary gas chromatography (GC) using flame ionization (FID) and capillary gas chromatography coupled mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for detection. Twenty-six compounds were identified in the essential oil that concluded 99.7% of the total oil. The major components were γ-terpinen-7-al (26.91%), cumin aldehyde (23.29%) and γ-terpinene (22.02%). Other constitutes were ρ-cymene (7.32%), 2-caren-10-al (6.92%) and limonene (4.79%). For study of antimicrobial activity, the essential oil tested against 9 bacteria by disk diffusion method. The antimicrobial effects were determined against two gram positive bacteria: Staphylococcus areous (ATCC=25922) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC=1435) and seven gram negative bacteria: Pseudomonas aeroginosa (ATCC=1074), Shigella flexneri (ATCC=1234), Kellebsiella pnuomonae (ATCC=1053), Salmonella typhi (ATCC=1634), Serratia marcescens (1111), Escherichia coli (ATCC=25923) and Escherichia coli (ATCC=157). The results showed the seed oil of B. persicum had strong anti-bacterial effects. This property could be resulted from the relatively high amount of terpinenes and cumin aldehyde in the essential oil.