Antimicrobial Activity and Chemical Analysis of the Essential Oil of Algerian Juniperus phoenicea

Abstract

The essential oils of Juniperus phoenicea L. from Algeria were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Concerning their chemical composition, 74, 61 and 72 volatile compounds were identified from fresh leaves, dried leaves and berries, representing 88.8%, 91.3% and 94.7% of the total composition, respectively. The main monoterpene in the oils of fresh leaves, dried leaves and berries was α-pinene (29.6% / 55.9% / 56.6%), accompanied by lesser amounts of the sesquiterpenes β-caryophyllene (2.6% / 1.6% /1.2%) and germacrene D (2.01% / 1.7% / 1.5%), respectively. Antibacterial activity of J. phoenicea essential oils was tested against one Gram-negative and four Gram-positive bacterial strains and the yeast Candida albicans, responsible for nosocomial infections. As references, 14 antibiotics and 5 antifungal agents were evaluated. The berry essential oil was ineffective against all but two of the strains tested, whereas the essential oil of dried leaves significantly inhibited all strains but Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which turned out to be the most resistant strain overall. However, Escherichia coli was the most susceptible to the essential oils tested. The essential oil of dry leaves was highly active against Candida albicans, outclassing even the standard antifungal substances. These promising results could substantiate the use of essential oils in the treatment of hospital-acquired infections.

Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Efficiency of Essential Oils from Algerian Juniperus phoenicea L. Against Some Pathogenic Bacteria

“…These results agree with those reported on the analysis of other juniper oils from Greece, [26][27] and Tunisia, 13,28,29 as well as Morocco 30 and Algeria. 7,31,32 Furthermore, δ-3-carene, a monotepene hydrocarbon, was also reported as an important metabolite in the samples of the present study, specifically in the Boutaleb (BO) Lb oil sample (19.3%). Also, the β-phellandrene was present in reasonable amounts notably in the SG Lb (23.8%) and Lo (26.9%) samples.…”

Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial and Anti-inflammatory Activity of Algerian Juniperus phoenicea Essential Oils

“…Some studies have also noted the resistance of Gram-negative strains including E. coli and P. aeruginosa to J. phoenicea EOs, [22,23] while, other works reported their sensitivity [10,14]. On the other hand, the most sensitive strain to our EOs i.e., B. cereus, was found to be resistant in a previous study [23].…”

“…The EOs of J. phoenicea L. were obtained by steam distillation with a yield of 0.15% for fresh leaves, 0.21% for dried leaves and 0.14% for berries. These yields are lower than those obtained from the same species in Algeria, collected in Southwestern (0.6% for fresh leaves, 0.9% for dried leaves and 2.0% for berries) [10] and in Northeastern (an average of 0.82%) [11].…”

Nanoparticles and essential oils with antiviral activity on packaging and surfaces: An overview of their selection and application

“…(a‐d) Structure of major components of different essential oils (EOs) with antipathogenic properties (% are in wt%). (Aljabeili et al, 2018; Bouyahyaoui et al, 2016; Moradi et al, 2012; Munda et al, 2018; Rezig et al, 2019; Sebei et al, 2015; Silván et al, 2013)…”

“…F I G U R E 6 (a-d) Structure of major components of different essential oils (EOs) with antipathogenic properties (% are in wt%). (Aljabeili et al, 2018;Bouyahyaoui et al, 2016;Moradi et al, 2012;Munda et al, 2018;Rezig et al, 2019;Sebei et al, 2015;Silv an et al, 2013) Most EOs are aromatic and volatile oily liquids with 5-12 carbons in their structure, unsaturation and some functional groups with heteroatoms, mainly oxygen (Reichling, 2021;Wani et al, 2021). Structures of some EOs and their major components that have been used for antiviral applications are shown in Figure 6.…”