Chemical composition, total phenolic content and antimicrobial activities of <i>Zhumeria majdae</i>

Abstract

<em>Zhumeria majdae</em> is a rare an endemic medicinal plantspecies grown wild in Iran. The hydro distilled essential aerial part oil of <em>Z. majdae</em> analysed by GC–MS. Thirty-one compounds representing 95.36% of the aerial part oil, respectively, were identified, of which linalool (48.14%), camphor (20.71%), limonene (4.83%), trans-linalool oxide (2.69%), 3-Octanone (2.34%), terpinene-4-ol (2.30%), camphene (1.88%), caryophyllene oxide (1.34%), geraniol (1.23%), α-pinene (1.22%), p-Cymene (1.08%) were the major compounds. Total phenolic content was 42.74 mg GAE/g dw and the IC₅₀ in the radical scavenging assay was 32.08 mg/ml. The hydro distilled essential aerial part oil display potential of antibacterial activity against the tested 8 phytopathogenic bacterial such as <em>Bacillus cereus</em>, <em>Bacillus thuringiensis</em>, <em>Enterococcus faecalis</em>, <em>Staphylococcus epidermidis</em>, <em>Salmonella typhimurium</em>, <em>Campylobacter jejuni</em>, <em>Klebsiella pneumoniae</em> and <em>Pseudomonas fluorescens</em>. The inhibition zones and MIC values for all test strains, which were sensitive to the essential oil of <em>Z. majdae </em>were in the range of 33-30 mm and 0.93 mg/ml, respectively. The results support the traditional usage and also possible use of <em>Z. majdae </em>essential oil and extracts in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.