Commercially available aroma samples were evaluated for their olfactory quality by professional perfumers and tested for their antimicrobial activity. Agar diffusion and agar-dilution were used as test methods and a set of two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus Aureus and Enterococcus faecalis) and four Gram-negative bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris G, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella abony) and a yeast, Candida albicans, were the test microorganisms.
All the investigated compounds were active against Gram-positive bacteria, especially β-caryophyllene against Enterococcus faecalis (MIC 6 ppm), but only few substances showed activity towards Gram-negative bacteria, except for cinnamic acid, which was active against all (MIC 60 ppm) and Candida albicans, against which cinnamic acid and caryophyllene oxide showed high activity (MIC < 60 ppm).
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2.
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KamkaenN, WilkinsonJM, RuangrungsiN. (2008) Chemical compositions and antibacterial activities of essentials oil from the family Rutaceae. International Journal of Essential Oil Therapeutics, 2, 158–162.
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BailS, BuchbauerG, SchmidtE, WannerJ, SlavchevA, StoyanovaA, DenkovaZ, GeisslerM, JirovetzL. (2008) GC-MS-analysis, antimicrobial activities and olfactory evaluation of essential davana (Artemisia pallens Wall. ex DC) oil from India. Natural Product Communications, 3, 1057–1062.
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19.
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21.
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National Committee Clinical Laboratory Standards. (2000) Reference Method for Broth Dilution Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of Yeast. Approved standard M27-A. NCCLS, Wayne, PA, USA.
23.
Clinical and Laboratory Standards Indtitute (2006) Methods for Dilution Antimicrobial Susceptibility Tests for Bacteria that Grow Aerobically. Approved Standard M7-A5 CLSI, Wayne, PA, USA.
