In vitro Bioactivity and Antimicrobial Activity of Picea abies and Larix decidua Wood and Bark Extracts

Picea abies and Larix decidua were subjected to GC/MS analyses, and antimicrobial (fungi and bacteria) assays of their stem wood and bark extracts were investigated. L. decidua bark extract exhibited the highest antifungal and antibacterial activities against the microorganisms that were screened. The microbes Penecillium ochrochloron and Aspergillus ochraceus were the most sensitive to the extracts, whereas Candida albicans was the most resistant fungus. L. decidua wood and bark did not exhibit much variation in their antibacterial activities, except against Micrococcus flavus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bacterium most sensitive to the extracts was Escherichia coli, whereas the most resistant was M. flavus. 13-epimanool and α-cedrol were the main components of P. abies wood extract. The main components in its bark were abietic acid, astringin, dehydroabietic acid, and α-terpineol. The main chemical compounds in L. decidua wood extract were abietic acid, oleanolic acid, duvatrienediol, and larixol. The main chemical compounds in its bark were (-)-2,9-dihydroxyverrucosane and larixol. The study revealed that P. abies and L. decidua stem wood and bark extracts contain several compounds that have antimicrobial activities towards diverse human pathogenic, food, and agricultural microbes. These results might guide in future searches for novel natural products with chemotherapeutic uses.