Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oils from Different Parts of Cachrys cristata DC. from Greece

Fresh leaves, stems and roots of Cachrys cristata, were subjected to hydrodistillation and the oils obtained were analyzed by means of GC and GC-MS. Sixty eight constituents were in total identified, with (Z)-beta-ocimene (44.2% and 30.5%) dominating in leaves and stems oils, while the major metabolite of the roots was found to be p-tolualdehyde (39.6%), followed by (Z)-beta-ocimene (15.2%). The microbial growth inhibitory properties of the essential oils were determined using the broth microdilution method against seven laboratory strains of bacteria - Gram positive: Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus, Enterococcus faecalis and Gram negative: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and two strains of the yeast Candida albicans. The essential oils exhibited considerable activity against certain strains of the microorganisms tested, with the leaves oil demonstrating higher antimicrobial activity among the tested samples.