Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oil of Matricaria chamomilla

The present study describes the phytochemical profile and antimicrobial activity of Matricaria chamomilla essential oil. The sample of essential oil was obtained from the aerial parts of the plant by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC–MS. A total 55 compounds were identified mainly including α-Pinene (22.11%), Camphene (10.8%), Sabinene (4%), Limonene(5.64%),1,8-Cineole(6.45%), Camphor (4%) and α-Bisabolol(6.35%). Essential oil of Chamomile was evaluated for its antibacterial activities against three Gram-positive and four Gram negative pathogenic bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Proteus sp., Pseudomonua aeruginosa, Shigella sonnei and Shigella shiga. Antimicrobial activity of the oil was evaluated using agar diffusion and micro dilution methods. The antimicrobial test results showed that the oil had antimicrobial activity against all bacteria strains, except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results, suggest antimicrobial activities had correlated to the chemical composition.