Volatile Constituents Analysis and Antimicrobial Activity of Two Subspecies Ballota nigra L. From Iran
Abstract Background Ballota nigra L. is a perennial herb of the Lamiaceae family and it's native to the Mediterranean region and central Asia, also it can found throughout Europe. during this research, the volatile oil composition and antimicrobial activity of the methanol extract from flowering aerial parts of two subspecies of B. nigra (B. nigra ssp. foetida and B. nigra ssp. anatolica) were evaluated. Plant extraction was prepared by the maceration method and the antibacterial activity of methanolic extracts against 12 microorganisms was investigated by disc diffusion and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods.Results: GC/MS analysis of the volatile oil confirms the presence of 25 constituents in B. nigra ssp. foetida and 27 constituents in B. nigra ssp. anatolica. the most constituents in these two subspecies were α- Terpineol, Eicosane, Hexadecanoic acid, Longipinene epoxide, and Ethyl linoleate, which had slight differences within the amount of total volatile oil. within the antibacterial and MIC tests, indicated that methanolic extract of two subspecies Ballota nigra L. had acceptable antibacterial activity and therefore the B. nigra ssp. anatolica had more antibacterial activity in compression to B. nigra ssp. foetida.Conclusion: Today the tendency of natural products due to antioxidant and antimicrobial properties is increasing, and plants are the main source of these safe materials. During this respect, our study is often considered because of the first report on the volatile oil composition and antimicrobial activity of methanol extract of various subspecies of .B. nigra.