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Antibiotic Activity of the Essential Oil of Laurel (Laurus nobilis L.) on Eight Bacterial Strains



Author(s)

Salima Bennadja, Yasmina Tlili Ait Kaki, Abdelghani Djahoudi, Youcef Hadef and Azzedine Chefrour

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DOI:10.17265/1934-7391/2013.08.005

The recent studies unveil more and more therapeutic properties of the essential oil of Bay leaf (Laurus nobilis L.). The aim of this study is to determine the chromatographic profile of the essential oil of Bay leaf cultivated under the climatic conditions of the Algerian East and to test its antibiotic activity, against 8 bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Serratia sp., Proteus sp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus D, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumanii), by using different concentrations. The GC/MS analysis showed that the essential oil is rich in eucalyptol (35.31%), β linalool (22.52%), eugenol methyl ether (9.17%), camphene (7.37%) and 3 carene (5.39%). The antibiotic activity of the essential oil was determined by the diffusion on agar method. Measuring diameters of inhibition method of Vincent [1] indicated that bacterial strains which are very sensitive to even very diluted essential oil are Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus D, Serratia sp. and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Acinetobacter baumanii exhibit less sensitivity and Proteus sp. is especially sensitive to the pure oil. Laurus nobilis L. is a Mediterranean endemic that presents an interesting antibacterial activity and its culture should be encouraged and expanded in Algeria.

Laurus nobilis L., Algerian east, essential oil, GC/MS, antibiotic activity.