title: Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Cupressus atlantica.
abstract: Cupressus atlantica Gaussen, an endemic species from Morocco, is used in traditional medicine. The chemical composition of the essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation from the leaves was investigated by capillary gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and also evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial activity. Sixty-one components, representing 98.1% of the total, were detected of which fifty-seven were identified. Germacrene D (34.8%), alpha-pinene (13.6%), delta-cadinene (6.1%), alpha-phellandrene (5.5%), gamma-cadinene (5.0%), beta-caryophyllene (4.8%) and alpha-humulene (4.4%) were the predominant compounds. The oil was characterized by a relatively high amount of oxygenated monoterpenes (66.5%). The oil, screened for antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative, showed pronounced activity against all the microbes tested, except Pseudomonas, which showed resistance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie Organique Appliquée, Faculté des Sciences Semlalia, BP2390, Universitá Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco.
authors.forename: My Youssef
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Arjouni
authors.forename: Fouad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bahri
authors.forename: Abderrahmane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romane
authors.forename: M Ahmed El Alaoui
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: El Fels
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D029781:Cupressus / Q000737:chemistry*; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils