Antimicrobial activity of essential oils from Tunisian aromatic plants

The essential oils from Thymus capitatus (L.) Hoffmgg. et Link, Ocimum basilicum (L.), Myrtus communis (M.) and Laurus nobilis (L.) have been characterized and tested against two bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum and Escherichia coli) and a fungus (Geotrichum candidum), using a submerged broth culture method. The results obtained showed that T. capitatus and O. basilicum were the greatest inhibitors of all the strains tested, and that Escherichia coli was more inhibited than Lactobacillus plantarum by all the essential oils tested. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.