Antibacterial, antioxidant activity and chemical composition of some medicinal plants from Albania.

The antibacterial activity of six Albanian plants were studied. Essential oils of: Juniperus communis, Laurus nobilis, Lavandula angustifolia, Myrtus communis, Origanum vulgare and Salvia officinalis were tested in-vitro against three selected Gram negative and Gram positive microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, by the agar diffusion method. The essential oil of oregano demonstrated the highest antibacterial activity, against Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Lavandula angustifolia and Juniperus communis essential oils. Essential oil of oregano demonstrated the highest antimicrobial activity, against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. P.aeruginosa was resistant against all investigated essential oils except Origanum vulgare. The essential oil of oregano demonstrated the highest antimicrobial activity, against Escherichia coli, followed by Salvia officinalis. The essential oils of Origanum vulgare, from three different locations in Albania, were chemically characterized by GC/FID. Carvacrol was the main component. The second major constituent was thymol and the third one was p-cymene. The other main constituents were caryophyllene, limonene and γ-terpinene. A rapid evaluation for antioxidants of Origanum vulgare essential oil, using TLC screening methods, showed that carvacrol and thymol and other component have interesting radical scavenging property.