Steam distilled volatile oil from marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) was evaluated for its antibacterial and antifungal activities. A range of 25 bacterial and five fungal species was used in this study, and included animal and plant pathogens, food poisoning bacteria and mycotoxigenic fungi. The oil exerted considerable inhibitory powers against several of the bacteria, with the food-poisoning bacterium Staphylococcus aureus being least affected. The most susceptible organisms were Beneckea natriegens, Erwinia carotovora and Moraxella sp. Of the fungi tested, Aspergillus niger proved the most susceptible to marjoram oil.
The antifungal and fungicidal effects of two chemotypes of basil (Ocimum basilicum) oil and its major individual components were studied in a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments. Mycelial growth of the plant pathogenic fungus Botrytis fabae was reduced significantly by both the methyl chavicol chemotype oil and the linalol chemotype oil, and the major individual components of the oils all reduced fungal growth, with methyl chavicol, linalol, eugenol and eucalyptol reducing growth significantly. Combining the pure oil components in the same proportions as found in the whole oil led to very similar reductions in fungal growth, suggesting that the antifungal effects of the whole oils were due primarily to the major components. When the fungus was exposed to the oils in liquid culture, growth was reduced by concentrations considerably smaller than those used in the Petri dish studies. Botrytis fabae and the rust fungus Uromyces fabae were also controlled in vivo, with the whole oils of both chemotypes, as well as pure methyl chavicol and linalol, reducing infection of broad bean leaves significantly. Most effective control of fungal infection was achieved if the treatments were applied 3 h postinoculation.
Steam-distilled volatile oil from Artemisia ajira Jacq. (family Compositae), indigenous to the mountainous regions in southern Africa and used in popular medicine, was analysed by gas chromatography and tested for antimicrobial and antioxidative properties. The main components of the volatile oil were a-and /I-thujone (52%), 1,8-cineole (13 "/,), camphor (15 %) and a-pinene (2 %). Twenty-five bacterial species and three filamentous fungi were used to assess the antimicrobial properties. Fifteen test bacteria and one fungus showed high degree of inhibition of growth caused by the volatile oil. The most susceptible organisms were Acinetobacter calcoaceficus, Beneckea nafriegens, Breuibacferium linens, Brochothrix fhermosphacta, Citrobacter jiieundii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Serratia marcescens. The oil exerted considerable antioxidative effect.
The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from plants grown from 25 batches of seed of Agastuche species were investigated. Oil yield and composition were determined from individual samples. The changes in yield and chemical composition were monitored throughout the season. The authenticity of plants was assessed.
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