EFFECT OF DOMESTICATION ON ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF ORIGANIUM COMPACTUM FROM TWO MOROCCAN LOCALITIES

Abstract

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of domestication on the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils extracted from Origanum compactum collected in the Tidili and Chaouen regions of Morocco. The EOs chemical composition was determined by GC–MS. The antibacterial activity was tested against thirteen bacterial strains using the disc diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration were determined by the micro-dilution method. The results showed that the tested EOs exhibited a wide variation in their chemical composition, with carvacrol being the majority compound (46.1%- 59.0%) for all oils analyzed, followed by the two hydrocarbon monoterpenes, p-cymene (10.9%- 22.2%) and γ-terpinene (7.3%- 11.12%). Compared to wild forms, the essential oil of cultivated O. compactum contained a lower percentage of carvacrol and a higher content of its primary precursors, p-cymene and γ-terpinene. The EOs of O. compactum expressed important antibacterial activity against all thirteen strains studied. The diameters of the inhibitory zones varied from 8 to 45 mm, while the MIC values ranged from 518 to 1250µg/ml. Based on the results obtained, domestication can be suggested as a promising solution for the conservation of these endemic species of high socio-economic value.