Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Linum pubescens growing wild in Jordan.

The volatile constituents of the aerial flowering parts of Linum pubescens were collected by hydro-distillation and analysed by GC and GC/MS. Analysis allowed the identification of 68 components of which, geranyl isovalerate (18.93%), lauric acid (12.07%), germacrene D (10.61%), decanoic acid (8.07%), 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (5.02%) and 1-hexanol (4.99%) were detected as major constituents. The isolated essential oil of the plant exhibited high antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus ATCC11778, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 2923) and showed moderate antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 13048 and Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 10031).