Evaluation of Chemical Composition of Essential Oil and Antibacterial Effect of Different Extracts of Arenaria hispanica L

Introduction: With increasing resistance to overuse of synthetic chemical antibiotics, it is necessary to find alternative drugs that have both antibacterial and minimal side effects. The aim of this research is the effect of different types of solvents on the extraction of effective antibacterial agents of the plant and the identification of chemical compounds of Arenaria hispanica essential oil in North Khorasan province. Methods: Arenaria hispanica with locally name ‘Marjaneh’, after collection and drying, was extracted using various solvents by maceration method. Essential oil distillation was performed by Clevenger apparatus and the compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Disk and well diffusion method, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were used to determine the antibacterial activity. Results: The extracts had effect only on gram positive bacteria and the inhibitory effects of methanolic extract was more than others. Escherichia coli was the most resistant and Bacillus cereus was the most susceptible bacterium, which showed no statistically significant differences between groups (P > 0.05). The MIC / MBC results showed that none of the extracts were able to inhibit or remove the bacteria and higher concentrations are required. Nonadecane was the main compound identified in the essential oil. Conclusions: Different extracts had less antibacterial effects than commercial antibiotics and small numbers of compounds were identified by the GC/MS analysis.