The chemical composition, antimicrobial and antiradical properties of the essential oil of Achillea grandifolia aerial parts from Serbia

Abstract

Aromatic plants and essential oils have many applications in medicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and the food industry. The essential oil of the flowering aerial parts of Achillea grandifolia, obtained by hydrodistillation, was analyzed for its constituents and investigated for antimicrobial and radical scavenging activity. The essential oil was characterized by a high amount of oxygenated monoterpenes (72.7%) with 1,8-cineole (29.2%) and camphor (23.4%) being the most abundant. Sesquiterpenes were present in smaller quantities (4.8%). Antimicrobial activity was tested against eight ATCC bacterial strains and two ATCC strains of Candida albicans. The essential oil exhibited highly pronounced antimicrobial activity against Micrococcus luteus with a MIC value of 3.50 μg/mL, as well as significant antimicrobial activity (<100 μg/mL) against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis and Bacillus subtilis. Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were resistant. Achillea grandifolia essential oil exhibited concentration-dependent antiradical activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical with an SC50 value of 5.4 mg/mL. The TLC-DPPH assay revealed two main light yellow spots indicating components with anti-DPPH activity, which after isolation were identified as 1,8-cineole and camphor.

Keywords

• achillea grandifolia
• essential oil
• 1
• 8-cineole
• camphor
• antimicrobial activity
• antiradical activity