Preparation and Characterization of Essential oil from Lavandula spica Plant and its Antimicrobial Activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus

The biological properties of herbs and essential oils (EOs), such as their antibacterial, analgesic, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer characteristics, make them widely used in a variety of fields. This research aims to assess the antibacterial efficacy of lavender oil against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). The essential oil from Lavandula spica was extracted via water distillation and characterized by using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Bacterial strains were isolated from burn wounds, confirmed by polymerase chain reaction technique, and were tested using disc diffusion method and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) calculations. The study identified 28 components in the EO, with monoterpenes being the predominant. Out of 150 samples, 56 (45.52 %) were positive for P. aeruginosa and 67 (54.47 %) for S. aureus by using standard microbiological techniques including Gram staining, biochemical tests and Polymerase chain reaction technique. P. aeruginosa showed high resistance to cefazolin (100 %) and levofloxacin (83.3 %), while S. aureus was highly resistant to cefoxitin, piperacillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and ampicillin/sulbactam. The zone of inhibition and MIC for EO against P. aeruginosa were 9.910 f 0.866 and 2.376 f 0.352 while for S. aureus were 10.597 f 0.818 and 0.894 f 0.073 respectively with significance levels of p > 0.05 and p < 0.01. The study concluded that L. spica EO shows promising antimicrobial activity, particularly against Gram-positive bacteria suggesting its potential for further research and antimicrobial use.