Antibacterial activities and Chemical composition of essential oils of Cupressus sempervirence L. and C. funebris Endl. in Khuzestan, Iran

Essential oils of different plants are widely used in the pharmaceutical and food fields. In order to assess the composition of the essential oils, study antimicrobial properties, and compare the effect of essential oils of two Cupressus species with imipenem as a carbapenem antibiotic on wound infections, the chemical composition of essential oils of Cupressus sempervirence L. and C. funebris Endl. were obtained by Clevenger apparatus and analyzed by chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The essential oil efficiency was estimated at a rate of ۰.۳%. In total ۱۰ compounds were identified from the essential oils of each species. The results showed that C. sempervirens mainly consisted of ۲۱.۵% totarol, ۱۵.۵۴% delta-۳-carene, ۱۴.۳۷% α-pinene and ۱۱.۷۸% phenanthrene and C. funebris mainly contained ۲۴% α-cedrol, ۱۸.۱۱% naphthalene, ۱۲.۹۶% α-pinene, ۱۰.۰۵% delta-۳-carene and ۹.۳% α-cedrene. The results of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), showed that the essential oils of two species could inhibit the growth of most type strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Schroeter ۱۸۷۲) Migula ۱۹۰۰ (DSM ۵۰۰۷۱T). Time-killing assay revealed that compared to imipenem, essential oils further reduced the bacterial colony growth after ۲۴ hours’ incubation. On the other hand, essential oils of two species of Cupressus, have shown more efficient bactericidal effects versus imipenem.