Study of the species Rosmarinus officinalis L.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is a member of the Lamiaceae family that grows wild and is widely cultivated in countries around the Mediterranean. Our work began with an ethnobotanical study in three regions-Annaba, Guelma, and El-Tarf (Algeria)-which confirmed the plant's importance in traditional herbal medicine. A histological study of the leaves and stems allowed us to identify the adaptive characteristics of this species to drought. The extraction of essential oil and chemical analysis by GC/MS revealed the oil's high content of borneol, verbenone, and beta-linalool. Rosemary essential oil exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter spp., with weaker activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as strong antioxidant activity. Other rosemary extracts (tannins, infusions, and decoctions) possess less pronounced activity than that of the essential oil.