Composition and antibacterial activity of Abies balsamea essential oil

The antibacterial activity of the essential oil of Abies balsamea (balsam fir) was evaluated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus . The essential oil of A. balsamea was found to be inactive against E. coli (>100 µg/mL) and active against S. aureus , with an MIC of 56 µg/mL. The oil composition was analysed by GC‐MS and the antibacterial activity of each oil constituent was determined. The essential oil of A. balsamea is essentially constituted of monoterpenes (>96%) and some sesquiterpenes. β ‐pinene (29.9%), δ ‐3‐carene (19.6%) and α ‐pinene (14.6%) were the major components. β ‐pinene and δ ‐3‐carene were found inactive against both bacteria strains. However, three constituents of the essential oil were active against S. aureus : α ‐pinene, β ‐caryophyllene (0.4%) and α ‐humulene (0.2%) with MIC values of 13.6 µg/mL, 5.1 µg/mL and 2.6 µg/mL, respectively. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.