Chemical Composition And Antimicrobial Activity Of Ocimum Basilicum L Essential Oil

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the chemical constituents, antibacterial and antifungal activities of Ocimum basilicum. L essential oil extracted from the areal parts of the plant. Essential oil was extracted by hydro distillation for 3 hours using a Clevenger apparatus. Anhydrous sodium sulphate was used to remove the moisture from the extracted volatile oil. Essential oil was characterized using Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed 39 chemical constituents in the 99.92% of the total essential oil. Among them Linalool (41.28%), Geraniole (22.04%), Estragole (7.60%) and Neroleacetate (5.01%) are the major components and others are minor components. The essential oil showed potential antibacterial activity against gram positive bacteria than gram negative bacteria. S. aureus (32.0±0.9mm), B. cereus (32.0±0.9 mm), B. subtilis (29.1±1.2 mm), E.cloacae (25.2±1.0 mm), M.flavus ( 24.2±1.0 mm) showed strong antibacterial activity. Essential oil showed potent antifungal activity against yeast and fungal strains A.alternaria (32.1±0.1mm), A.fumigates (31.8±0.8mm), F.oxyporum (30.4±0.2mm), A.flavus (21.0±0.6mm), C.herbarum (20.2±0.1mm). Minimum inhibition concentration range between antibacterial and antifungal activity of the essential oils is 1.0±0.2 to 5.0±1.2μg/ml and 1.0±0.3 to 4.5±0.8 μg/ml respectively. The present study indicates that O.basilicum L. essential oil can be used for its antibacterial and antifungal activity.