Comparative Analysis of Chemical Compositions and Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oils from Abies holophylla and Abies koreana

The chemical compositions and antibacterial and antifungal activities of essential oils extracted from Abies holophylla and A. koreana were investigated. GC-MS analysis revealed that 38 compounds comprised 95.88% of the A. holophylla essential oil, with the main components being bicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-ol (28.05%), delta 3-carene (13.85%), alpha-pinene (11.68%), camphene (10.41%), dl-limonene (7.61%), beta-myrcene (7.11%), trans-caryophyllene (5.36%), and alpha-bisabolol (3.67%). In the essential oil from A. koreana, 36 compounds comprised 98.67% of the oil, and the main compounds were bornyl ester (41.79%), camphene (15.31%), alpha-pinene (11.19%), dl-limonene (8.58%), fenchyl acetate (5.55%), and alpha-terpinene (2.29%). Both essential oils showed great potential of antibacterial activity against several bacteria tested, in the range of 2.2-8.8 mu g per disc by the agar disc diffusion method, and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 5.5-21.8 mg/ml by the microdilution method. Both oils showed very effective antifungal activities toward all pathogenic strains tested, including Candida glabrata, with MIC values in the range of 0.5-2.2 mg/ml. As a whole, A. koreana oil showed better antibacterial and antifungal properties than A. holophylla oil.