ANTIBACTERIAL PROFILE OF PEUCEDANUM LONGIFOLIUM ESSENTIAL OIL

Abstract

In the present study, the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of Peucedanum longifolium Waldst. & Kit. (Apiaceae) essential oil were examined, as well as the association between it and standard antibiotics. Gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry were used to analyze the chemical composition of the oil. The antibacterial activity of the oil was investigated by the broth microdilution method against thirteen bacterial strains. The interactions of the essential oil with three conventional antibiotics: tetracycline, streptomycin and chloramphenicol toward five selected bacterial strains were evaluated using the microdilution checkerboard assay. Monoterpene hydrocarbons (61.60%), with myrcene (15.88%) as the dominant constituent, were the most abundant compound class of the essential oil of P. longifolium from Serbia. The researched essential oil exhibited slight antibacterial activity against the tested bacterial strains in vitro. On the contrary, essential oil of P. longifolium posseses significant synergistic potential in combination with streptomycin and chloramphenicol (FIC indices in the range 0.21–0.87). Their combinations reduced the minimum effective dose of the antibiotic and, consequently, minimized its adverse side effects. In addition, investigated interactions are especially successful against Gram-negative bacteria, the pharmacological treatment of which is very difficult nowadays. These results indicate a method to enhance the efficacy of antibacterial drugs, especially against resistant bacterial strains.

Keywords

• Peucedanum longifolium
• essential oil
• antibiotics
• checkerboard assay
• synergistic interactions