COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ESSENTIAL OILS OF OCIMUM BASILICUM AND CYMBOPOGON MARTINII ADDRESSING ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY

The present study was designed to judge the in vitro antibacterial activity and comparison of Ocimum basilicum and Cymbopogon martinii. From the folklore claim and ethnobotanical review, the plant Ocimum basilicum and Cymbopogon martinii leaves have been found to contain terpenes and terpenoids i.e. essential oil, and the plants are used in indigenous system of medicine for the treatment of bacterial infections. It is generally considered that compounds produced naturally rather than synthetically, will be biodegraded more easily and be therefore environmentally more acceptable. Thus, natural drugs which are used to treat various diseases antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antioxidants, cytotoxic and nutrients gained importance in the recent years, and their use and positive image among consumers are spreading. In recent years multiple drug resistance in both human and plant pathogenic microorganisms have been developed due to the indiscriminate use of commercial antimicrobial drugs commonly used in the treatment of infectious diseases. To find new therapeutic agents, plants that have antibacterial (antimicrobial) activity have attracted the attention of researchers. The antibacterial activity was studied in three different concentrations (10 μl, 15 μl, 20 μl) were tested against Streptococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus. At the highest concentration of 20 μl exhibits more antibacterial activity and Cymbopogon martinii shows more antibacterial activity than Ocimum basilicum in all three concentrations by using well diffusion method.