Search

The present study was conducted to investigate for the first time the chemical composition and insecticidal and antimicrobial properties of Phlomis floccosa D. Don. essential oil isolated by hydro-distillation of its aerial parts. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the essential oil on the basis of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/FID and GC/MS) revealed the presence of 59 organic volatiles representing 86.9% of the total constituents. The major compounds were germacrene-D (19.7%) followed by β-caryophyllene (15.5%), caryophyllene oxide (8.3%), hexadecenoic acid (7.9%) and carvacrol (6.1%). The broth microdilution method was conducted to test the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil against five pathogens: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and the yeast Candida albicans. The oil of P. floccosa D. Don. shows promising activity against the Gram-positive bacteria S. aureus and B. subtilis and the yeast C. albicans (minimum inhibitory concentration = 625 μg.mL-1 ). The effectiveness of the essential oil was assessed on both Tribolium confusum and Sitophilus zeamais pest insects and it was more pronounced against T. confusum, showing a moderate mortality of 47.5%.