ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LAUREL ESSENTIAL OIL

The factors that arouse interest in the study of essential oils as biocidal agents are numerous, such as the fact that they have antibacterial, antifungal, insecticidal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and larvicidal properties. The objective of this work was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity, in vitro, of the laurel (Laurus nobilis L) essential oil on the growth of pathogenic bacteria Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC 14028 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, at different exposure times, as well as to perform the chemical characterization. Twenty compounds were identified and quantified, representing 96.57% of the total composition. The class of oxygenated monoterpenes represented the majority class of the essential oil, with 1,8-cineol (33.8%) as the substance found in greater quantity, followed by linalool (17.79%). The third constituent in greater quantity was sabinene (12.23%), belonging to the group of monoterpene hydrocarbons. Terpinyl acetate (9.41%) was also considered to be quantitatively representative. Laurel essential oil showed bacteriostatic activity against S. Typhimurium ATCC 14028 and S. aureus ATCC 25923.