INVESTIGATION INTO THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ‘CEDRUS ATLANTICA’ ESSENTIAL OIL

In the present study, Cedrus atlantica leaves volatile oil were screened for their antibacterial activity and chemical composition. The essential oil chemical constituents obtained by hydro-distillation and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antibacterial activity was tested in vitro on Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas and Klebsiella pneumonia and Gram-positive: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus, and Enterococcus faecalis, using disc-diffusion method. Twenty five compounds were identified in leaves oil representing 66.0.9 % of the total oil composition. Cedrus atlantica essential oil yield was 1.64% and major compounds were α-pinene (8,65%), himachalene (8.41%), β-himachalene (8,14%), σ-himachalene (6,26%), cis-α-atlantone (5,11%), himachalol (4,25%) and α-himachalene (3,25%), germacrene D (3.15%), β-caryophyllene (2.14%), cadinene (2.00%), β-pinene (1.95%), humulene (1.20%) and β-copaene (1.16%). In both strain, Cedrus atlantica oil exhibited very considerable antibacterial activity.