The chemical composition of the essential oils isolated from the aerial parts of Micromeria inodora (Desf.) Benth. collected in 24 Algerian localities was investigated from the first time using GC-FID, GC/MS and 13 C-NMR. Altogether, 83 components which accounted for 94.7% of the total oil composition were identified. The main compounds were trans-sesquisabinene hydrate (1; 20.9%), α-terpinyl acetate (2; 19.8%), globulol (3; 4.9%), caryophyllene oxide (4; 4.3%), β-bisabolol (5; 2.9%) and trans-7-epi-sesquisabinene hydrate (6; 2.6%). Comparison with the literature highlighted the originality of the Algerian M. inodora oil and indicated that 1 might be used as taxonomical marker. The study of the chemical variability allowed the discrimination of two main clusters confirming that there is a relation between the essential-oil compositions and the soil nature of the harvest locations. Biological activity of M. inodora essential oil was assessed against fourteen species of microorganisms involved in nosocomial infections using paper disc diffusion and dilution agar assays. The in vitro study demonstrated a good activity against Gram-positive strains such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, and Enterococcus faecalis, and moderate activity against Candida albicans. These results might be useful for the future commercial valorization of M. inodora essential oil as a promising source of natural products with potential against various nosocomial community and toxinic infections.
Keywords: Biological activity; Chemical variability; Environmental chemistry; Essential oils; Micromeria inodora (Desf.) Benth..
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