Studies of the Essential Oil Composition, Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity Profiles of Frankenia laevis L. from Tunisia

Abstract Essential oils from the aerial parts of Frankenia laevis were obtained by steam distillation and were analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS. Forty-four compounds were identified, representing 91.5% of the oil constituents. Hexadecanoic acid was the major compound (19.8%), followed by methyl linoleate (16%), (E, E)-farnesyl acetate (9.5%), (E)-nerolidol (8.9%) and benzyl benzoate (6.8%). Minimum inhibitory concentrations, minimum bactericidal concentrations and inhibition zone diameters against gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria and phytopathogenic fungi were determined. Essential oil was particularly effective against Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus and Salmonella typhimurium, nevertheless no antifungal activity was detected at the tested concentrations.