Volatile Constituents and Antibacterial Screening of the Essential Oil of <i>Chenopodium Ambrosioides</i> L. Growing in Nigeria

Abstract

The essential oil of the aerial parts of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. has been isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed using GC-MS. The major components were found to be alpha-terpinene (63.1%), p-cymene (26.4%) and ascaridole (3.9%). The oil displayed no antibacterial activity against either Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus cereus or Staphylococcus aureus, or the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli (MIC=1250 microg/mL). A cluster analysis of C. ambrosioides essential oils reveals at least seven distinct chemotypes: ascaridole, alpha-terpinene, alpha-pinene, p-cymene, carvacrol, alpha-terpinyl acetate, and limonene.