Examining the antibacterial properties of the essential oil of sheep’s ear plant

Researchers from India evaluated the essential oil of Inula cappa (sheep’s ear) for its antibacterial properties. This is the first report of the bioactivity and essential oil composition of I. cappa. The researchers published their findings in the Journal of Essential Oil Research.

• I. cappa grows wild in the central Himalayan region (India).
• The researchers analyzed I. cappa essential oil using capillary GC and GC-MS. The sesquiterpene hydrocarbons constituted almost 50 percent of the oil.
• They identified 54 constituents which represented 90.2 percent of the oil. The principal constituents were ?-Caryophyllene (27.5 percent), cis-dihydro-mayurone (6.7 percent), ?-bisabolene (6.5 percent) and (E)-?-farnesene (5.6 percent).
• The researchers tested the antibacterial activity of I. cappa essential oil against 10 bacterial strains and found significant activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Xanthomonas phaseoli, and Bacillus subtilis.
• There is evidence to suggest that I. cappa essential oil possess antibacterial properties that work against certain bacterial strains commonly found in human gut.

Learn of other essential oils with potent antibacterial properties at EssentialOils.news.

Journal Reference:

Priydarshi R, Melkani AB, Mohan L, Pant CC. TERPENOID COMPOSITION AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL FROM INULA CAPPA (BUCH-HAM. EX. D. DON) DC. Journal of Essential Oil Research. 2015;28(2):172–176. DOI: 10.1080/10412905.2015.1090935