Composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oil of six Stachys species from Serbia

The essential oils of Stachys scardica, S. officinalis, S. germanica, S. sylvatica, S. plumosa and S. recta were analysed by GC-MS. From more than 100 identified constituents of the oils, the sequiterpene hydrocarbons were the major components of all samples except that of S. plumosa, which was rich in monoterpene hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the oils were tested against three Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria. The essential oil of S. officinalis proved to be the most active. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.