Investigation of antimicrobial activity of

Pelargonium radula (Cav.) L’Hérit (Geraniaceae) is a decorative plant that originates from the Southeast of Africa. In literature, it is frequently found under different synonyms (P. radens H. E. Moore, P. raduloides Hoffmgg., P. multifidum Salisb., P. revolutum Jacq., P. roseum Wild., non Ait., Eckl. & Zeyh.). It is commercially cultivated for its essential oil. The main component of the essential oil is geraniol (up to 50%), while other important monoterpenes include citronellol, i-menthone, citronellyl formate, and geranyl formate, their oxides and esters (1). Water and ethanolic extracts of the plant were found to have hypoglycaemic pro-perties (2, 3). There are also indications that the plant extracts possess antimicrobial ac-tivity (4, 5). However, this activity has been investigated only on a small number of mi-croorganisms. In the present study, we have further analyzed the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extracts prepared from fresh as well as dried plants on 29 microorganisms