Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Achillea coarctata Essential Oils from Greece

Abstract

The essential oils of the inflorescences and leaves of Achillea coarctata Poir. (Compositae) growing spontaneous in Greece were obtained through hydrodistillation and analysed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Both oils were characterized by the abundance of oxygenated monoterpenes with 1,8-cineole (26.9% and 29.1%, respectively), camphor (22.1%, 9.2%) and borneol (5.0%, 6.8%) being the major constituents. Their in vitro antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria strains and the yeast Candida albicans was determined.