Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils from the Tunisian Allium nigrum L.

Authors

  • Lamia Sakka Rouis-Soussi Laboratory of Genetic, Biodiversity and Valorisation of Bioressources (LR11ES41), High Institute of Biotechnology of Monastir, Tunisia
  • Asma El Ayeb-Zakhama Laboratory of Genetic, Biodiversity and Valorisation of Bioressources (LR11ES41), High Institute of Biotechnology of Monastir, Tunisia
  • Aouni Mahjoub Laboratory of Transmissible Diseases and Biologically Active Substances, Faculty of Pharmacy of Monastir, Tunisia
  • Guido Flamini Dipartimento di Farmacia, Via Bonanno 33, 56126 Pisa, Italy
  • Hichem Ben Jannet Laboratory of Heterocyclic Chemistry, Natural Products and Reactivity, Team: Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, Faculty of Sciences of Monastir, Avenue de l'Environnement, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia
  • Fethia Harzallah-Skhiri Laboratory of Genetic, Biodiversity and Valorisation of Bioressources (LR11ES41), High Institute of Biotechnology of Monastir, Tunisia

Keywords:

Allium nigrum L., essential oils, organs, GC-MS analysis, antibacterial activity

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oils of different Allium nigrum L. organs and the antibacterial activity were evaluated. The study is particularly interesting because hitherto there are no reports on the antibacterial screening of this species with specific chemical composition. Therefore, essential oils from different organs (flowers, stems, leaves and bulbs) obtained separately by hydrodistillation were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The antibacterial activity was evaluated using the disc and microdilution assays. In total, 39 compounds, representing 90.8-96.9 % of the total oil composition, were identified. The major component was hexadecanoic acid (synonym: palmitic acid) in all the A. nigrum organs oils (39.1-77.2 %). We also noted the presence of some sesquiterpenes, mainly germacrene D (12.8 %) in leaves oil) and some aliphatic compounds such as n-octadecane (30.5 %) in bulbs oil. Isopentyl isovalerate, 14-oxy-α-muurolene and germacrene D were identified for the first time in the genus Allium L. All the essential oils exhibited antimicrobial activity, especially against Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus. The oil obtained from the leaves exhibited an interesting antibacterial activity, with a Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of 62.50 µg/mL against these two latter strains. The findings showed that the studied oils have antibacterial activity, and thus great potential for their application in food preservation and natural health products.

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Published

2014-05-13

How to Cite

Rouis-Soussi, L. S., Ayeb-Zakhama, A. E., Mahjoub, A., Flamini, G., Jannet, H. B., & Harzallah-Skhiri, F. (2014). Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils from the Tunisian Allium nigrum L. EXCLI Journal, 13, 526–535. Retrieved from https://www.excli.de/index.php/excli/article/view/719

Issue

Vol. 13 (2014)

Section

Original articles

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