CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF SATUREJA BIFLORA (LAMIACEAE)

ABSTRACT. Hydro-distilled essential oil from Satureja biflora (Lamiaceae) growing in Kenya was analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and also evaluated for antimicrobial activity. Twenty two compounds which constitute 99.29 % of the total oil were identified. The oil was dominated by monoterpenes, which accounted for 62.02 % of the oil. This monoterpene fraction was characterized by a high percentage of linalool (50.60 %) such that this Satureja species can be classified as the linalool chemotype. The other major monoterpenes were α-terpineol (2.80 %), β-ocimene (2.25 %), β-pinene (1.96 %) and cis-linalool oxide (1.91 %). Sesquiterpenes present in fairly good amounts are germacrene D (10.63 %), α-cadinol (4.53 %), β-bourbonene (2.33 %), δ-cadinene (2.19 %), τ-cadinol (2.17 %), endo-1-bourbonanol (2.14 %) and β-caryophyllene (1.98 %). Aliphatic alcohols and acids accounted for 7.23 % of the oil, of which the major one was linoleic acid (4.48 %). The oil was screened for antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus ssp.) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pheumoniae, Proteus mirabilis) bacteria and a pathogenic fungus (Candida albicans). To the best of our knowledge nothing concerning the chemical composition and biological activity of the essential oil of S. biflora has been reported