Essential oil composition and antibacterial activity of Achillea millefolium L. from different regions in North east of Iran

Abstract

Achillea millefolium L. belongs to Asteraceae family and widely distributed in Mountainous and Steppe regions of Golestan province. The aerial parts of plant were collected from two different regions (700 to 2300 m) and the essential oils were obtained by hydro distillation. Essential oil compositions were analyzed by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Different compounds were identified and their yield was 99.43 and 99.70%, respectively in Maraveh Tapeh and Charbagh regions. 1,8-cineole (18.6%), camphor (13.9%), borneol (9.4%), terpinolene (8.6%), γ-terpinene (6.8%) and thujone (4.3%) were the major components oil in 2300 m, whereas terpinolene (81%) followed by borneol (4.2%), β-pinene (3.5%) and chamazulene (2.9%) were identified in the flower oil in 700 m. The antibacterial activities were studied in vitro against 9 Gram positive and negative bacteria. The bacterial strains tested were found to be more sensitive to essential oil in which obtained in 2300 m and showed a very effective bactericidal activity with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 12.6 to 112 μg/ml. S. epidermicis, S. aureus, B.cereus, E. faecalis and E. coli were the most sensitive bacteria from oil of 2300 m, whereasS. aureus was the most sensitive bacteria, B. cereus, E. coli and S. typhimorium have moderate sensitivity and other bacteria were resistant to the oil of 700 m. E. coli and E.faecalis with 16.5 and 14.2 mm inhibition zone were sensitive Gram negative bacteria with MIC 22.8 and 63.8 μg/ml, respectively. Results demonstrate that the oil of A. millefolium L. can become potentials for controlling certain important Gram positive and negative bacteria which produces many infectious diseases, but their effective is varied in different region. Key words: Achillea millefolium L., essential oil, 1,8-cineole, terpinolene, Bacillus cereus,Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli.