DRYING METHODS AND THEIR IMPLICATION ON QUALITY, QUANTITY AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF LAURUS NOBILIS L. FROM MOROCCO

The effects of various methods of drying on the chemical quality and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Laurus nobilis were studied. The most prominent component in the air-dried, fresh leaf and microwave-dried leaf oils is 1,8 Cineole (58,8, 35.62 and 42,9% respectively). The essential oil has undergone significant chemical transformation in its monoterpenoids when the leaves of plant in the question were dried by the three different methods. The oils have screened for antimicrobial activity against both Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus hirae) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria and two fungal species (Penicilium digitatum and Alternaria sp). The microbial strains tested have been found sensitive to all essential oils studied.