Antibacterial effect of Salvia macrosiphon essential oil against 4 human pathogenic bacteria and identification of the oil constituents

In many parts of the world, there is a rich tradition in the use of herbal medicine for the treatment of many infectious diseases. Because of the side effects and the resistance that pathogenic microorganisms build against the antibiotics, much recent attention has been paid to extract the biologically active compounds from plant species used in herbal medicine. The aim of this study was antibacterial activity of Salvia macrosiphon essential oil on four bacteria and identification of the chemical constituents. The essential oil was extracted using hydro-distillation method and analyzed by GC, GC/MS.The total number of compounds identified and quantified were 10 representing 92.8 % of the total essential oil. Linalool (54.8%) and sclareol (27.3%) were the major compounds. The antimicrobial activity of the oil was evaluated using dilution method against standard strains of Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus. Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. All of the bacteria were sensitive to the oil. Minimum bactericidal concentration of the oil on S. aureus, B. cereus, Escherichia coli and S. enterica were 0.15, 0.15, 0.38 and 0.77% respectively. The obtained results confirm and suggested the justification of indigenous plant, Salvia macrosiphon essential oil used in traditional medicine as treatment for microbial infections or as preservative in food.