Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Anatolian Sweetgum (Liquidambar orientalis Mill.) Leaf Oil

Anatolian sweetgum tree (Liquidambar orientalis Mill.), also known as “daily tree”, is among the plants that grow in the vicinity of Mu？la province of Turkey. The essential oil obtained from this plant, which is prominent in its economic value, are used to treat upper respiratory tract diseases, as well as antiseptic and antiparasitic. In this study, it was aimed to determine the antimicrobial effects of the essential oil from the leaves of Anatolian sweetgum tree against some microorganisms. For this purpose, the essential oil of this species leaves was obtained by the water vapor distillation method. The chemical composition of the essential oil of the plant was analysed by GC-MS. It was determined that the main components of L. orientalis essential oil were to be terpinen-4-ol (39.53%), α-terpineol (16.21%), sabinene (11.12%), α-pinene (8.05%), veridiflorol (6.37%) and p-cymene (2.11%). Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of L. orientalis was investigated by using spectrophotometric broth microdilution method. Accordingly, the highest MIC99.9 value of L. orientalis essential oil was against Pseudomonas aureginosa (16.4 μg/mL), while the lowest activity was Candida parapsilosis (28.7 μg/mL). Furthermore, MIC99.9 values for the other microorganisms were determined as 27.8 μg/mL for Bacillus subtilis, 26.1 μg/mL for Staphylococcus aureus, 27.2 μg/mL for Escherichia coli and 19.0 μg/mL for C. albicans. As a result, L. orientalis essential oil has been shown to be a potential antimicrobial agent in terms of chemical content