Essential oils (EOs) are one of the most important groups of plant metabolites responsible for their biological activities. This study was carried out to study the chemical composition and the antimicrobial effects of Artemisia herba-alba and Origanum majorana essential oils against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and a fungal strain isolated from spoiled butter. The plants were collected in the region Azzemour of South West Morocco and the EOs, extracted by hydrodistillation, were analyzed by GC-MS. The antimicrobial activity was determined using the agar paper disc method. The main components of A. herba-alba EO were cis-thujone, trans-thujone and vanillyl alcohol; in O. majorana EO terpinen-4-ol, isopulegol and β-phellandrene predominated. Both essential oils exhibited growth inhibiting activities in a concentration-dependent manner on several microorganism species. Our results demonstrated that O. majorana and A. herba-alba EOs could be effective natural antibacterial agents in foods.
Keywords: Artemisia herba-alba; Origanum majorana; antimicrobial activity; chemical characterization; essential oils.