ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF SWEET BASIL OILS

The present study explores the chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum). Sweet basil essential oil was extracted using a Clevenger type apparatus. The oil yield of sweet basil was found to be 0.171%. A total of 75 compounds representing 99.9% of Sweet basil oil were identified. Linalool (69.85%) was identified as the major component present in sweet basil oil, followed by geraniol (10.850%), 1,8-cineole (6.430%), _ bergamotene (1.635%) and geranyl acetate (1.350%). sweet basil essential oil exhibited strong antibacterial activity against all the bacteria tested except Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The strongest inhibition activity of Sweet basil was observed against Streptococcus pneumoniae 2 (60 mm), Hemophilus influenzae (45 mm), Candida albicans (45 mm), S. pneumoniae 1 (37 mm) and Aspergillus niger (35 mm). Total antioxidants content quantified in Sweet basil essential oil using a commercial kit were found to be 50.32 +/- 1.8 mM. The essential oil extracted from Sweet basil was found to have higher linalool content, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities than most of earlier reported values. In this regard, this variety can be very useful for medical purposes and in food and perfumery industries.