Abstract & Overview
The essential oil content and composition of dill and parsley growing in summer and wintertime in Estonia were studied using the Clevenger distillation method for oil isolation and gas chromatography for identifying the extracts. Antimicrobial activity against several test microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus albus, Bacillus mesentericus and Aspergillus flavus) was studied using the zone-of-inhibition method. The essential oil yield of dried aromatic plants grown in wintertime was 0.24% of dry weight for parsley, and 0.56% for dill, and 0.29% and 0.65% for plants, grown in summer, respectively. Twenty-five (25) compounds were identified representing over 98% of the oil components of dill and dill seeds. The principal components of dill leaf oil were α-Phellandrene (47.7-62.5%), myristicin (1.7-28.2%), dill ether (0.9-14.8%), β-phellandrene (7.4-7.5%), and limonene (3.7-3.8%). Thirty-four (34) essential oil components were identified in parsley leaves (≥ 96%) with the major constituents myristicin (30.7-42.7%), β-phellandrene (21.8-35.9%), p-1,3,8-menthatriene (5.4-10.0%), and β-myrcene (4.5-8.7%). Essential oils from summer grown plants possessed higher antimicrobial activity against all studied microorganisms.