Biomass, essential oil yield, essential oil composition diversity, and antibacterial and antifungal activities of 14 selections of 4 Ocimum species [Ocimum basilicum L. (selections: T1-T10), O. gratissimum L. (selections: T11-T12), O. tenuflorum L.f., syn. O. sanctum L. (selection: T13) and O. kilimandscharicum Baker ex. Guerke (selection: T14)] were investigated. O. basilicum selections T9 (methyl chavicol: 87.0%) and T10 {(Z)- and (E)-methyl cinnamate: 69.1%} produced higher biomass (67.8 and 56.7 t/ha) and oil (203.4 and 141.7 kg/ha) yields relative to 8 (T1-T8) linalool (up to 58.9%), or methyl chavicol (up to 61.8%) rich selections. O. gratissimum selection T12 (eugenol: 84.1%, 254.6 kg/ha oil yield) was significantly superior to T11 (62.1% eugenol and 18.4% camphor). O. tenuiflorum (T13, methyl eugenol: 72.5%) and O. kilimandscharicum (T14, camphor: 51.7%) produced 171.7 and 96.2 kg/ha essential oil, respectively. The essential oils exhibited broad spectrum antibacterial (against 5 Gram-positive and 7 Gram-negative bacteria) and antifungal (against 10 fungi) activities. The bacterial species Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, and Enterococcus faecalis, and the fungal species Epidermophyton floccosum, Microsporum gypseum, and Sporothrix schenckii were more sensitive to the essential oils.
PatonA. (1992) A synopsis of Ocimum L. (Labiateae) in Africa. Kew Bulletin, 47, 405–437.
2.
PushpangadanP, BraduBL. (1995) Basil. In Advances in Horticulture: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Vol. 11, ChaddhaKL, GuptaR. (Eds). Malhotra Publishing House, New Delhi, India, 627–657.
3.
HolmY. (1999) Bioactivity of basil. In Basil: The Genus Ocimum.HiltunenR, HolmY (Eds). Harwood Academic Publishers, Amsterdam, 113–135.
MeloJS, D'SouzaSF. (2004) Removal of chromium by mucilaginous seeds of Ocimum basilicum. Bioresource Technology, 92, 151–155.
6.
ParagS, VijayshreeN, RanuB, PatilBR. (2010) Antibacterial activity of Ocimum sanctum Linn. and its application in water purification. Research Journal of Chemistry and Environment, 14, 46–50.
7.
HasegawaY, TajimaK, ToiN, SugimuraY. (1997) Characteristic components found in the essential oil of Ocimum basilicum L. Flavour and Fragrance Journal, 12, 195–200.
8.
SimonJE, QuinnJ, MurrayRG. (1990) Basil: A source of essential oils. In Advances in New Crops: Proceedings of the First National Symposium on New Crops: Research, Development, Economics. JanickJ, SimonJE (Eds). Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 484–489.
9.
KothariSK, BhattacharyaAK, RameshS. (2004) Essential oil yield and quality of methyl eugenol rich Ocimum tenuiflorum L.f. (syn. O. sanctum L.) grown in south India as influenced by method of harvest. Journal of Chromatography A, 1054, 67–72.
10.
KothariSK, BhattacharyaAK, SinghK, RameshSI, Prakasa RaoEVS. (2005) Pre-flowering harvesting of Ocimum gratissimum for higher essential oil and eugenol yields under semi-arid tropics. Journal of Essential Oil Research, 17, 212–216.
11.
LawrenceBM. (2004) Progress in essential oils. Perfumer and Flavorist, 29, 80–93.
12.
BhattacharyaAK, KaulPN, Rajeswara RaoBR. (1996) Essential oils of Ocimum gratissimum L. and Ocimum tenuiflorum L. (syn. Ocimum sanctum L.) grown in Andhra Pradesh. Indian Perfumer, 40, 73–75.
13.
BhattacharyaAK, Rajeswara RaoBR, KaulPN, MallavarapuGR, RameshS. (1997) Aetherisches öl aus europaischem basilikum (Ocimum basilicum L.) einflub von genotyp, pflanzenteil, wachsstumsphase und anbauort auf die zusammensetzung. Parfumerie und Kosmetik, 78, 20–22.
14.
WoźniakKS, LudwiczukA, WidelskiJ, FilipeJJ, AsakawaY, GłtowniakK. (2009) Volatile constituents of Ocimum minimum herb cultivated in Portugal. Natural Product Communications, 4, 1383–1386.
15.
NagaiA, DuarteLML, SantosDYAC. (2011) Influence of viral infection on essential oil composition of Ocimum basilicum (Lamiaceae). Natural Product Communications, 6, 1189–1192.
16.
HiltunenR, HolmY. (1999) Essential oil of Ocimum. In Basil: The Genus Ocimum.HiltunenR, HolmY (Eds). Harwood Academic Publishers, Amsterdam, 77–111.
17.
DharAK. (2002) Sweet basil Ocimum basilicum- A review. Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Sciences, 24, 738–755.
18.
PrabhuKS, LoboR, ShirwaikarAA, ShirwaikarA. (2009) Ocimum gratissimum. A review of its chemical, pharmacological and ethnomedicinal properties. The Open Complimentary Medicine Journal, 1, 1–15.
19.
PrakashP, GuptaN. (2005) Therapeutic uses of Ocimum sanctum (Linn.) Tulsi with a note on eugenol and its pharmacological actions: A short review. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 49, 125–131.
20.
KhanA, AhmadA, ManzoorN, KhanLA. (2010) Antifungal activities of Ocimum sanctum essential oil and its lead molecules. Natural Product Communications, 5, 345–349.
21.
DumanAD, TelciI, DayisoyluKS, DigrakM, Demirtasİ, AlmaMH. (2010) Evaluation of bioactivity of linalool-rich essential oils from Ocimum basilicum and Coriandrum sativum varieties. Natural Product Communications, 5, 969–974.
22.
MartiniMG, BizzoHR, MoreiraDL, NeufeldPM, MirandaSN, AlvianoCS, LeitãoSG. (2011) Chemical composition and antimicrobial activities of the essential oils from Ocimum selloi and Hesperozygis myrtoides. Natural Product Communications, 6, 1027–1030.
23.
GangradeSK, SrivastavaRD, SharmaOP, MogheMN, TrivediKL. (1989) Evaluation of antibacterial properties of essential oils of Ocimum species. Indian Perfumer, 33, 130–136.
24.
GangradeSK, SrivastavaRD, SharmaOP, JainNK, TrivediKL. (1989) Evaluation of antifungal properties of essential oils of Ocimum species. Indian Perfumer, 33, 97–101.
25.
PrasadG, KumarA, SinghAK, BhattacharyaAK, SinghK, SharmaVD. (1986) Antimicrobial activity of essential oils of some Ocimum species and clove oil. Fitoterapia, 57, 429–432.
26.
NdoungaM, OuambaJM. (1997). Antibacterial and antifungal activities of essential oils of Ocimum gratissimum and O. basilicum from Congo. Fitoterapia, 68, 190–191.
27.
GuptaSC. (1996) Variation in herbage yield, oil yield and major components of various Ocimum species / varieties (chemotypes) harvested at different stages of maturity. Journal of Essential Oil Research, 8, 275–279.
28.
RunyoroD, NgassapaO, VagionasK, AligiannisN, GarikouK, ChinouI. (2010) Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of four Ocimum species growing in Tanzania. Food Chemistry, 119, 311–316.
29.
ThoppilJE, TajoA, MinijaJ. (1998) Antibacterial and antifungal activity of four varieties of Ocimum basilicum. Fitoterapia, 69, 191–192.
AdigűzelA, GűllűceM, SengűlM, OğrűtcűH, ŞahinF, KaramanI. (2005) Antimicrobial effect of Ocimum basilicum (Labiateae) extract. Turkish Journal of Biology, 29, 155–160.
32.
AdiboluTT, OladimejiSA. (2005) Antimicrobial activity of leaf extracts of Ocimum gratissimum on selected diarrhea causing bacteria in southwestern Nigeria. African Journal of Biotechnology, 4, 682–684.
33.
GargSC, SiddiquiN. (1992) Antifungal activity of some essential oil isolates. Pharmazie, 47, 467–468.
34.
JiwenZ, ShengKunL, JunWW. (2009) The main chemical composition and in vitro antifungal activity of the essential oils of Ocimum basilicum Linn. var. pilosum (Willd.) Benth. Molecules, 14, 273–278.
35.
OxenhamSK, SvobodaKP, WaltersDR. (2005) Antifungal activity of the essential oil of the basil (Ocimum basilicum). Journal of Phytopathology, 153, 174–180.
36.
NakamuraCV, IshidaK, FaccinLC, Dias FilhoBP, CortezDAG, RozentalS, De SouzaW, Ueda–NakamuraT. (2004) In vitro activity of essential oil from Ocimum gratissimum L. against four Candida species. Research in Microbiology, 155, 579–586.
37.
GroverGS, RaoJT. (1997) Untersuchungen über die antimikrobielle wirksamkeit der ätherischen öle von Ocimum sanctum und Ocimum gratissimum. Parfumurie und Kosmetik, 58, 326–328.
38.
ErkmenO, OzcanM. (2003) The effect of essential oil of Turkish plants species on microorganisms in broth. Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants, 6, 130–134.
39.
ClevengerJF. (1928) Apparatus for the determination of volatile oil. Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, 17, 341–346.
40.
KovátsE. (1965) Gas chromatographic characterization of organic substances in the retention index system. Advances in Chromatography, 1, 229–247.
41.
DaviesNW. (1990) Gas chromatography retention indices of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes on methyl silicone and carbowax 20 M phases. Journal of Chromatography, 503, 1–24.
42.
MasadaY. (1976) Analysis of Essential Oils by Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectroscopy.Halsted Press, John Wiley and Sons, New York.
43.
BauerAW, KirbyWMM, SherriesJC, TruckM. (1966) Antibiotic susceptibility testing by standardized single disc method. American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 45, 493–496.
44.
WannissornB, JarikasemS, SoontorntanasartT. (1996) Antifungal activity of lemongrass oil and lemongrass oil cream. Phytotherapy Research, 10, 551–554.
