Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils extracted from plants cultivated in mexico

International audience; Samples of lavender, rosemary and laurel essential oils obtained from plants cultivated in Mexico were analyzed by GC-MS using a non polar capillary column. Characterization of individual components was performed using a com. mass spectrometry library, and 53 components were identified. The anal. of bioactive compds. highlighted a 5 and 2-fold increased quantity of potent antibacterial 1,8-cineole (46.5%) and camphor (12.3%) in lavandin "provence", compared to the French cultivars. It also showed a 3- and 2-fold increase in camphor and linalool concn. in rosemary and laurel compared to the av. level, making them promising alternatives for medicinal treatment. Strains of Gram-pos. and Gram-neg. bacteria were analyzed for their susceptibility to these essential oils using the agar disk diffusion method and their antimicrobial activity was demonstrated. To our knowledge, this is the first report on antibacterial activity of lavender essential oil, recently added to the Mexican pharmacopeia, against Mycobacterium smegmatis (Mc Rv 3782 PW2).