Antibacterial activity of the essential oils of Pistacia lentiscus used in Moroccan folkloric medicine.

The essential oil of the leaves of Pistacia lentiscus, collected from the middle Atlas in Morocco, was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Altogether 43 components in concentrations of more than 0.2% were identified representing 97.4% of the oil composition. The main constituents were germanicol (12.8%), thunbergol (8.8%), himachalene (7.4%), trans-squalene (6.7%), terpinyl propionate (6.7%), 3,3-dimenthol (6.2%) and cadina-1.4-diene (5.1%). The oils showed strong activity against Klebsiella pneumonia, but no activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.