The Phytol-rich Essential Oil from Fresh Medicago hispida Exerts Significant Inhibitory Activity against Escherichia coli

Medicago hispida is one of the most widely distributed and commonly cultivated plants of the genus Medicago in China. It is mainly consumed as a vegetable. In this paper, the extraction, chemical composition and antimicrobial potential of the essential oil from fresh M. hispida (EOFMH) were conducted and evaluated for the first time. The extraction yield of EOFMH was found to be 0.27% and 27 compounds were identified in EOFMH by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) with the highest level of phytol, accounting for 48.8%. EOFMH exhibited certain inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus subtilis, particularly its antibacterial activity against E. coli was equivalent to that of chloramphenicol. Results obtained from present work provided strong evidence that EOFMH could be considered as a phytol-rich natural product and a new source of nature-based antibacterial agent to be applied in industry.