Antimicrobial activities and phytochemical composition of Echinophora platyloba DC.: Essential oils from Isfahan

Higher plants have been shown to be a potential source for the new anti-microbial agents. Essential oils are becoming increasingly popular as naturally occurring antimicrobial agents. In this work the chemical composition and the antimicrobial properties of Echinophora platyloba essential oils were determined. The aims of this work were to assess the antimicrobial properties of the essential oils isolated from the aerial parts of E. platyloba. The plant was collected from Isfahan and identified by Pharmacognosy Department of Isfahan Faculty of Pharmacy. Hydrodistillation was used to isolate the essential oils and the chemical analyses were performed by gas chromatography and GC coupled to mass spectrometry. The antimicrobial activity of the oils and components was determined against several microorganisms, using a disc agar diffusion method. Ciprofloxacin, ketoconazole and amphotericin B are used in the test as positive control. The GC-MS analysis showed that the major constituents of the oils were monoterpene hydrocarbons and an alcoholic monoterpene, but the concentration of these compounds varied greatly among the oils examined. The results of the antimicrobial assay showed that essential oil of E. platyloba DC. posse's significant antimicrobial effects against 8 studied microorganisms. The essential oils obtained from E. platyloba has an antimicrobial activity comparable to the one observed in other Echinophora species. These effects relate to antimicrobial activity of components of essential oil and possibly their synergistic relationship.