Abstract

 The present study describes the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil from Salvia potentillifolia Boiss. & Heldr. ex Benth., which is endemic for Turkey. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and components of the essential oil were analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The major components of S. potentillifolia essential oil were 1.8-cineole (19.33%), b-pinene (11.97%) and a-pinene (8.99%). Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil was investigated against standard control and resistant strains, using disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) methods. The essential oil of S. potentillifolia showed relatively low levels of antimicrobial activity against the bacteria tested. However, the oil was as effective as the antibiotic tested againstStaphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300 [methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)], Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 51299 [vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE)], Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Haemophilus influenzae ATCC 49247 strains. The most bactericidal activity was obtained against Haemophilus species (4 μg/ml).

Key words: Salvia, lamiaceae, essential oil, GC-MS analysis, antimicrobial effect, MRSA,VRE