Essential Oil Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Tanacetum hololeucum from Iran

Composition and antibacterial activity of the hydro-distilled essential oil from aerial parts of Tanacetum hololeucum from Iran were investigated. The oil of T. hololeucum was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The major compounds were found to be artemisia alcohol (22.8%), yomogi alcohol (19.4%), artemisyl acetate (12.9%), gamma-eudesmol (12.1%) and camphor (10.5%). The antibacterial activity of the oil was tested against four bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella Pneumoniae and Escherichia coli) by disk diffusion and determination of MIC and MBC values. The results showed that Gram-positive bacteria were highly inhibited by the oil with MIC values of 2 mg/mL. The most resistant strain was Klebsiella Pneumoniae with the highest MIC and MBC values of 16 and >32 mg/mL, respectively. Considering sensitivity screening it is notable that the antibacterial property of the oil from T. hololeucum could be attributed mainly to the synergistic property of main compounds.