Chemical Composition and Assessment of Antimicrobial Activity of Lavender Essential Oil and Some By-Products
Alexandru Ciocarlan,
Lucian Lupascu,
Aculina Aricu,
Ion Dragalin,
Violeta Popescu,
Elisabeta-Irina Geana,
Roxana Elena Ionete,
Nicoleta Vornicu,
Octavian G. Duliu,
Gergana Hristozova,
Inga Zinicovscaia
Affiliations
Alexandru Ciocarlan
Department of Chemistry of Natural and Biologically Active Compounds, Institute of Chemistry, Academiei Str. 3, MD-2028 Chisinau, Moldova
Lucian Lupascu
Department of Chemistry of Natural and Biologically Active Compounds, Institute of Chemistry, Academiei Str. 3, MD-2028 Chisinau, Moldova
Aculina Aricu
Department of Chemistry of Natural and Biologically Active Compounds, Institute of Chemistry, Academiei Str. 3, MD-2028 Chisinau, Moldova
Ion Dragalin
Department of Chemistry of Natural and Biologically Active Compounds, Institute of Chemistry, Academiei Str. 3, MD-2028 Chisinau, Moldova
Violeta Popescu
Department of Chemistry of Natural and Biologically Active Compounds, Institute of Chemistry, Academiei Str. 3, MD-2028 Chisinau, Moldova
Elisabeta-Irina Geana
Department of Research and Development, National Research and Development Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies—ICSI Rm. Valcea, 4th Uzinei Str., PO Raureni Box 7, 240050 Rm. Valcea, Romania
Roxana Elena Ionete
Department of Research and Development, National Research and Development Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies—ICSI Rm. Valcea, 4th Uzinei Str., PO Raureni Box 7, 240050 Rm. Valcea, Romania
Nicoleta Vornicu
Metropolitan Center of Research T.A.B.O.R., 9 Closca Str., RO-700066 Iasi, Romania
Octavian G. Duliu
Department of Structure of Matter, Faculty of Physics, Earth and Atmospheric Physics and Astrophysics, University of Bucharest, 405 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Gergana Hristozova
Department of Nuclear Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot-Curie Str., 141980 Dubna, Russia
Inga Zinicovscaia
Department of Chemistry of Natural and Biologically Active Compounds, Institute of Chemistry, Academiei Str. 3, MD-2028 Chisinau, Moldova
The producers of essential oils from the Republic of Moldova care about the quality of their products and at the same time, try to capitalize on the waste from processing. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the chemical composition of lavender (Lavanda angustifolia L.) essential oil and some by-products derived from its production (residual water, residual herbs), as well as to assess their “in vitro” antimicrobial activity. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of essential oils produced by seven industrial manufacturers led to the identification of 41 constituents that meant 96.80–99.79% of the total. The main constituents are monoterpenes (84.08–92.55%), followed by sesquiterpenes (3.30–13.45%), and some aliphatic compounds (1.42–3.90%). The high-performance liquid chromatography analysis allowed the quantification of known triterpenes, ursolic, and oleanolic acids, in freshly dried lavender plants and in the residual by-products after hydrodistillation of the essential oil. The lavender essential oil showed good antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Xanthomonas campestris, Erwinia carotovora at 300 μg/mL concentration, and Erwinia amylovora, Candida utilis at 150 μg/mL concentration, respectively. Lavender plant material but also the residual water and ethanolic extracts from the solid waste residue showed high antimicrobial activity against Aspergillus niger, Alternaria alternata, Penicillium chrysogenum, Bacillus sp., and Pseudomonas aeroginosa strains, at 0.75–6.0 μg/mL, 0.08–0.125 μg/mL, and 0.05–4.0 μg/mL, respectively.
