Antibacterial activity of French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculusLinn.) essential oil and its constituents during ontogeny

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Steam distillation of the essential oil from French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L) yields a mixture of almost fifty different components. A set of ten bacterial species was exposed to the whole oil and several of its constituents, and the level of bacterial inhibition determined. Among the bacteria tested were several of public health significance, including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis and Yersinia enterocolitica. The most inhibitory compounds present in French tarragon essential oil were anisaldehyde, paracymene, eugenol, limonene, linalool, menthol, cis-ocimene, alpha-phellandrene, alpha-pinene and beta-pinene. The.antimicrobial activity of whole oil was also assessed at different stages during plant ontogeny.