Abstract
With a view to contributing to the evaluation of Moroccan flora through the identification of new potentially interesting substances at a biological and therapeutic level, we have undertaken a study of the essential oils in the saw¬dust of the Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Masters originating from the Khemisset region (Morocco). The study of the saw¬dust's essential oil, completed by CPG and CPG/SM, identi¬fied 22 components, the main five being: α-acorenol (20.9%), cedrol (17.9%), totarol (8.8%), α-cedrene (8.7%) and β-acorenol (7.4%). This essential oil was fractionated on an open silica column using an eluent of increasing polarity. Five fractions were collected in this way. The fraction (FH) eluted with the pentane comprised sesquiterpene hydrocarbons whereas the four oxygenated fractions (FO1 to FO4) eluted with a diethyl oxide/pentane mix of increasing polarity were domi¬nated by a diterpenoid phenol and two sesquiterpene alcohols respectively: totarol in the FO1 fraction (42.4%), α-acorenol in the FO2 (34.9%) and FO3 (54.0%) fractions, and cedrol in the FO4 fraction (58.2%). The sawdust's oil and its chromato¬graphic fractions were tested in vitro against four bacterium: Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus, and three funghi: Penicillium parasiticus, Aspergillus niger and Trametes pini. The unfractionated essen¬tial oil and oxygenated fractions, particularly FO1, comprising mainly of totarol, were the most active. Therefore, the FO1 fraction would be recommended for optimising the antimicrobial activity of the Tetraclinis articulata's essential oils.