The Application of the Essential Oils of L. and L. as Biocidal on Two Indian Leather Puppets.

The chemical profile of the (Lamiaceae) essential oil (EO) was investigated in order to evaluate its biological properties against microorganisms affecting two , typical Indian leather puppets stored at the International Puppets Museum "Antonio Pasqualino" of Palermo, Italy. A GC-MS analysis, using both polar and apolar columns, was used to determine the chemical composition of the essential oil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effectiveness of the and essential oils in vapor phase to disinfect heritage leather puppets. Pieces of leather artifacts that were affected by different bacterial colonies were exposed to EO under vacuum and static evaporation conditions. The results presented showed that the vaporization of essential oil was an efficient method in the disinfection of natural skins, eradicating microorganism in short times. EO in the 50% solution showed excellent inhibitory activity against isolated bacteria with both methods, but the obtained results suggest that the vacuum method allowed for faster exposition of the artifacts to the biocide. Furthermore, the biocidal properties of the essential oil of a Sicilian accession of (Apiaceae) aerial parts were compared and investigated. The results of the latter essential oil showed a poor activity against the isolated micro-organisms.