EFFECT OF CEDAR (CEDRUS LIBANI A. RICH) TAR ON BACTERIAL GROWTH

The main objective of this study is to research the inhibitory effect of Cedar tar produced from cedarwoods collected from Gume village of Mut, Mersin, Turkey, against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus haemolyticus using scanning electron microscopy. The inhibitory effect of cedar tar at varying concentrations (0.1-100%) was examined on bacterial growth (E. coli and S. haemolyticus) by using Kirby-Bauer agar diffusion method. Cedar tar showed a strong inhibitory activity in the range of 15-30 mm against all tested microorganisms. The MICs value of Cedar tar was 5% for E. coli and S. haemolyticus. The bacterial growth in liquid culture including 5% Cedar tar was observed by optical density and standard plate count method for 24 h. The optical density and viable cell counts in culture including Cedar tar (5%) reduced after 2 h of incubation period for all test strains. The bacterial colonies belonging to tested strains were not encountered on agar plates at the end of 10 h incubation. The cell images were not also determined in SEM micrographs of cultures with Cedar tar. Our data clearly indicated that cedar tar obtained by traditional thermal method had a strong inhibitory activity on bacterial cells.