Chemical and Biological Diversity in Fourteen Selections of Four Ocimum Species

Abstract

Biomass, essential oil yield, essential oil composition diversity, and antibacterial and antifungal activities of 14 selections of 4 Ocimum species [ Ocimum basilicum L. (selections: T1-T10), O. gratissimum L. (selections: T11-T12), O. tenuflorum L.f., syn. O. sanctum L. (selection: T13) and O. kilimandscharicum Baker ex. Guerke (selection: T14)] were investigated. O. basilicum selections T9 (methyl chavicol: 87.0%) and T10 {( Z)- and ( E)-methyl cinnamate: 69.1%} produced higher biomass (67.8 and 56.7 t/ha) and oil (203.4 and 141.7 kg/ha) yields relative to 8 (T1-T8) linalool (up to 58.9%), or methyl chavicol (up to 61.8%) rich selections. O. gratissimum selection T12 (eugenol: 84.1%, 254.6 kg/ha oil yield) was significantly superior to T11 (62.1% eugenol and 18.4% camphor). O. tenuiflorum (T13, methyl eugenol: 72.5%) and O. kilimandscharicum (T14, camphor: 51.7%) produced 171.7 and 96.2 kg/ha essential oil, respectively. The essential oils exhibited broad spectrum antibacterial (against 5 Gram-positive and 7 Gram-negative bacteria) and antifungal (against 10 fungi) activities. The bacterial species Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, and Enterococcus faecalis, and the fungal species Epidermophyton floccosum, Microsporum gypseum, and Sporothrix schenckii were more sensitive to the essential oils.