Chemical composition, antibacterial and antifungal activity of the essential oils of Cotinus coggygria from Serbia

Essential oils from leaves with young branches of Cotinus coggygria Scop. from two localities in Serbia (Deliblatska pescara and Zemun), obtained by hydrodistillation, were analyzed by GC-MS. Thirty-one component were identified from both oils and among them monoterpenic hydrocarbons were the dominant class (87.4 and 93.1 %). The dominant constituent in both essential oils was limonene (47.0 and 39.2 %). Both oils were also tested for antibacterial and antifungal activities. In comparison to streptomycin, both oils showed slightly higher activity (against most Gram-positive bacteria) in the disc diffusion method and slightly lower activity when the microdilution method was employed. They also exhibited antifungal potential higher than that of the commercial fungicide bifonazole.