In vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil of Craniotome furcata

The aim of present study was, to investigate the essential oil of Craniotome furcata for its antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The essential oil was obtained by steam distillation of the flowering aerial parts of C. furcata. The oil was tested for its antimicrobial activity in vitro against four Gram-positive, four Gram-negative bacteria and three fungi, by using disk diffusion and tube dilution methods. The antioxidant potential of the essential oil was investigated by two different models DPPH free radical and ABTS free radical cation scavenging. The essential oil was effective against all the tested microorganisms, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged from 4.11±1.44 to 0.30±0.10 mg/ml. The oil showed antioxidant activity in DPPH free radical and ABTS free radical cation scavenging model. The results of this study revealed that the essential oil of C. furcata possesses antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.