ABSTRACT
Objective: In this study, antimicrobial activity of essential oil, ethyl acetate and ether extracts of S. urmiensis Bunge were screened against some species of bacteria and fungi. Also, the essential oil of the aerial part of S. urmiensis Bunge was examined by GC and GC-MS. Methods:The oils obtained by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger apparatus from fresh and dried aerial parts of S. urmiensis Bunge were analyzed by GC and GC-MS to investigate the variations of oil components. Ethyl acetate and ether extracts of S. urmiensis Bunge were obtained using powdered aerial part and appropriate amounts of each solvent (ethyl acetate, ether) by maceration method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of essential oil and extracts against the bacteria and fungi was determined using broth microdilution method. Results: In the essential oil of S. urmiensis Bunge 27 Compounds have been identified. Benzyl benzoate (60.3 %), n-hexyl benzoate (16.7 %), Amyl benzoate (5.2 %) and 2- octyl benzoate (4.2 %) were the main components of the essential oil. The essential oil analysis showed greatest antimicrobial activity againstStaphylococcus epidermidis (5.3 μg/ml) and S. cerevisiae (9.3 μg/ml). The ethyl acetate showed greatest antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis (106.7 μg/ml), Candida albicans (5.3 μg/ml) and ether extract showed greatest antimicrobial activity against Klebseilla pneumoniae (10.7 μg/ml) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (10.7 μg/ml). Conclusions: we suggest that the antimicrobial activity of S. urmiensis may be due to its content of germacrene and linalool.