Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Cupressus dupreziana A. Camus

The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the green branchlets of Cupressus dupreziana A. Camus growing wild in Tassili n'Ajjer (Algeria) were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The main constituents of the essential oils were alpha-pinene (27.2% - 44.2%), germacrene D (16.2% - 27.2%) and Delta(3)-carene (14.2% - 26.7%). The oils showed insignificant activity on the growth of Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), when investigated by the diffusion method.