Composition and antibacterial activity of the essen tial oil of Ruta montana from Constantine (Algeria) .

The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of aerial parts of Ruta montana (Rutaceae) was analyze d by GC and GC/MS. 22 compounds were characterized representing 99.7% of the essential oil with undecan-2-one (37, 74%), resorcinol (27.66%) and 2-acetoxytetradecane (9.19% ) as major components. The antibacterial activity o f the essential oil was tested against 8 gram-positive an d gram-negative bacteria by the use of the disc dif fusion method.