Chemical Composition And Antimicrobial Potency Of Essential Oils From Roots Of Pinus Growing In Algeria

The objective of this study is to determine the chemical composition and antimicrobial potency of essential oils of three roots of genus Pinus (P. halepensis, P. pinea and P. pinaster) growing in Algeria for the first time. The essential oils used in the present study were isolated by hydrodistillation using a Cleavenger-type apparatus according the European Pharmacopoeia, and identified by GC and GC-MS. 14, 12, 11 constituents were identified, representing an average of 98.8 %, 91.3 % and 83.6 % of the total oil of roots of P. halepensis, P. pinea and P. pinaster respectively. The chemical profile reveals the dominance of monoterpenes compounds, although some quantitative variance was noticed. The main constituents of the oil root of P. halepensis were α-Pinene (87.4 %) and trans-p-Caryophyllene (3.5 %). The oil of P. pinea was dominated by Limonene (66.3 %), Trans-p-Caryophyllene (9.6 %), Myrcene (3.2 %) and Osmorhizol (3.2 %). The oil of P. pinaster was rich by α-Pinene (22 %), β-Pinene (27.1 %) and Trans-p-Caryophyllene (21.4 %). The antimicrobial activities of the essential oils from roots of P. halepensis, P. pinea and P. pinaster were tested against a panel of bacteria and one yeast strain using the agar well diffusion technique and dilution methods. The diameters of zones of inhibition exhibited by the essential oils were between 7 and 25 mm. The minimal inhibitory concentration was 28.4 μg/mL of P. halepensis and P. pinaster against S. aureus and C. albicans respectively.