Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Algerian Phlomis bovei De Noé subsp. bovei.

The chemical composition of essential oil obtained by steam distillation of dried aerial parts of Phlomis bovei De Noé subsp. bovei collected from Algeria, was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Seventy five constituents (corresponding to 86.37% of the total weight) were identified. The main components were: germacrene D, beta-caryophyllene, beta-bournonene, thymol and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of the oil was evaluated against six gram (+/-) bacteria and three pathogenic fungi, using the agar dilution technique. It was found that the oil exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against most of the tested microorganisms.