Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils of Cupressus arizonica Greene

The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from leaves, branches and female cones of Cupressus arizonica Greene cultivated in Tunisia was determined by GC and GC/MS analysis. Significant differences were found between the constituent percentages of the different oils. Among the 87 identified components alpha-pimene (60.5% in female cones), umbellulone (18.4% in leaves), delta-3-carene (15.6% in branches) and cis-muurola-4(14),5-diene (9.4% in leaves) were found to be the major ones. Composition of essential oils extracted from different organs of C. arizonica Greene growing in Tunisia showed remarkable differences from the same species cultivated in Algeria, Argentina, Iran, Italy, France and Texas based on a comparison with published results. The in vitro antibacterial activity of the essential oils samples was evaluated against some Grain positive and negative bacteria. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.