The essential oils of plants have been widely recognized in the pharmaceutical industry due to their various benefits as well as their biological activities. In Algeria, the seeds of Foeniculum vulgare Mill (Family Apiaceae) are widely utilized in herbal medicine. We aimed to examine the chemical composition of seed essential oil of this species, and to reveal its in vitro antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus sp., Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton violaceum, Microsporumgypseum, Microsporumcanis and Rhodotorula sp. Chemical analysis of essential oil isolated by hydro-distillation was carried out by GC-FID and GC-MS. The basic components of the essential oil were estragole (84.8%), limonene (7.8%), fenchone (3.1%) and α-pinene (1.3%). The essential oil of F. vulgare revealed higher antifungal activities particularly against C. albicans and Aspergillus species with MIC values of 0.16-0.2 mg/ml.

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Chemical composition determination and in vitro antibacterial effect of Essential Oil (EO) ofLaurus nobilis leaves grown North West Algerian conditions were investigated. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by the technique of the paper disc diffusion. Extractions were carried out with Clevenger apparatus and EO compositions were investigated by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The oxygenated monoterpenes (MO) were the class with the highest contents, represent 59% of the EO.A total of twenty-seven of these compounds were identified, the major components were 1,8-cineole (30.1%), -terpynil acetate (21.6%), methyl eugenol (16.9%) of the total oil. The highest antibacterial power of the EO tested was recorded in Streptococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus with the zone diameter of inhibition 13.6 and 11.2 mm respectively and a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.25 mg/mL for both these two strains. This is the first report on the composition and the evaluation In vitro antibacterial properties of the EO of Laurus nobilis grown in the northwest of Algeria.

This work aims to a detailed study of the different biological activities of two extracts, ethanolic and aqueous extract, obtained from the aerial part of Matricaria chamomilla L. grown North West Algerian. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined. HPLC was used to determine the quantity of phenolic compounds in these extracts. The results showed that the antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities were higher in the Aqueous Extract (AEC) in comparison with the ethanolic extract of chamomile. The AEC contained chlorogenic acid with a greater amount of other ingredients (2.45 mg/g). This plant had an antioxidant activity with IC50 values equal to 65.199 ?g/ml for AEC and 102.90 ?g/ml for the EEC. The AEC had an antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans with a diameter of inhibition zone equal to 16.33 and 15.66 mm, respectively. Matricaria chamomilla was practically nontoxic with a median lethal dose (LD50) equal to 3800 mg/kg of EEC and superior to 5000 mg/kg of AEC). The Carrageenan method was used in the test of the anti-inflammatory activity which gave the best inhibition of edema, 86.30% at (100 mg/kg) after 6h of induced Carrageenan.