Scholarly record

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY EVALUATION OF SOME CONIFER BUD SYRUPS

Gabriel Stelian Bujanca, Corina Iuliana Megyesi, Ioan David, Laura Radulescu, Aurica Borozan

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate the antibacterial potential of syrups derived from the buds of indigenous Romanian conifers, specifically silver fir (Abies alba) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). The research is motivated by the increasing clinical interest in natural bioactive compounds as viable alternatives or adjuncts to synthetic pharmaceutical agents. By utilizing traditional extraction methods on raw materials harvested from natural forest ecosystems, this work seeks to characterize the therapeutic and antimicrobial efficacy of these botanical extracts. Antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed using the disk diffusion method. Microcompressed paper disks were impregnated with the respective essential oils and placed on inoculated agar plates. Following a 24-hour incubation period at 37°C, the diameter of the inhibition zones was measured. To ensure statistical reliability, all assays were performed in triplicate, and results are expressed as mean inhibition diameters (mm). The antibacterial efficacy of the fir and pine syrups was evaluated against a panel of clinically relevant microbial strains, including Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis. Preliminary findings indicate that the essential oils extracted from conifer buds exhibit significant inhibitory effects across the tested taxa. This bioactivity is largely attributed to the presence of oxygenated monoterpenes, which comprise over 16.2% of the total oil composition. Furthermore, the essential oil of P. sylvestris buds demonstrated broad-spectrum activity when evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus.

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