Antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Lindera umbellate var. Membrancea

Abstract

Lindera umbellate var. Membrancea is endemic throughout Japan and has long been used as a fragrant wood and for crafting. Examination of its chemical composition identified linalool as the most abundant constituent. In activity testing by micro-broth dilution method, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of essential oil of L. umbellate against Staphylococcus aureus FDA209P and Escherichia coli NIHJ JC2 was 50 and 800 mg/ml, respectively. With essential oil at the respective MICs at broth dilution with shaking method, the growth of S. aureus was not observed for 15 h and the growth of E. coli was delayed for 23.4 h. We showed that essential oil of L. umbellate effectively inhibited the growth of bacteria.