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Abstract
The objective of this study was to analyse the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils derived from the leaves of A. spinosa (ASEO), found in the Stidia region on the western coast of northern Algeria. Among the 36 terpenic compounds identified, cubenol (31.02%) and 1,10-di-epi-cubenol (22.50%) were the most abundant, followed by camphor (8.22%), viridiflorol (7.10%), linalool (5.60%), and eucalyptol (5.40%). To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first study to identify cubenol and 1,10-di-epi-cubenol as the major constituents of A. spinosa-derived essential oil, with oxygenated sesquiterpenes (63.60%) forming the main class of compounds. The antibacterial properties of ASEO were evaluated using the broth microdilution method to determine minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) against eight bacterial species and the results were compared to those Cefuroxime. The highest antimicrobial activity was recorded against Gram-positive bacteria with MICs ranging from 7.81 mg/mL to 15.62 mg/mL; additionally, the Gram-negative bacteria, except Pasteurella multocida and Klebsiella pneumoniae (7.81 mg/mL), were the most resistant with MICs of 31.24 mg/mL. The MBC/MIC ratio values for all bacterial strains indicated a bactericidal property of ASEO. Thus, ASEO could have potential applications in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry.