Abstract
This study aimed to determine the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the volatile oil of Egyptian Ocimum Basilicum L. Forty two volatile compounds were identified by using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The abundant chemical Constituents were Linalool (33.9%), Eugenol (8.31%) and 2,6-Dimethyl-6-(4-methyl-3-pentenyl)-bicyclo[3.1.1] hept-2-ene (8.04%). Antimicrobial activity were studied at two different concentrations of oil extract (100 mu L) and (200 mu L) against three bacterial strains Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureous and Bacillus cereus, and three fungal strains, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisial. The volatile oil showed good inhibitory effect for all bacterial strains especially E. coli and weak activity against fungal species.