CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF Helichrysum italicum (ROTH) G. DON FROM BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
AZRA BACIC
Institute for Biomedical Diagnostics and Research GENOM, Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
NEDZAD PRAZINA *
Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
VILDANA HADZIC-HASANOVIC
Hospital for Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis, Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
MINELA DACIC
Faculty of Pharmacy and Health, University of Travnik, Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
ATIFA AJANOVIĆ
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
OMER MAHMUTOVIC
Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In this paper, chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don from Ljubuški (West Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina) was analysed. Essential oil was isolated by steam distillation and analysed by GC/MS method. Antimicrobial activity was carried out by agar-disc diffusion assay with Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and one yeast. The main components of this essential oil were α-pinene, neryl acetate, γ-curcumene and beta-selinene. Total 41 compounds were identified. The antimicrobial assay showed that immortelle essential oil has moderate antimicrobial potential with Gram-positive bacteria. Results of the study provide a basis for the evaluation of the potential use of essential oil from H. italicum as a source of alternative antibiotics from natural resources and a potential replacement of commercial antibiotics especially in dermo-cosmetics. The results of this paper and comparison to other authors confirmed that the efficacy of immortelle essential oil, as an antimicrobial agent, largely depends on its composition.
Keywords: Helichrysum italicum, essential oil, chemical composition, bacteria, yeast