Antibacterial Activity of Ocimum basilicum L. Extracts Grown in Aquaponic Conditions Against Gram-positive and Gram-negative Species

The practice of aquaponics is usually carried out in an integrated, recirculating system, which combines two components, aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (plant culture). In this system, the nutrients required for plant growth result from the metabolism of the food by the fish. The experiment was carried out at the Dunărea de Jos University, Galati, where a significant biomass of basil (Ocimum basilicum) was obtained in an aquaponic regime, thus using the metabolic residues from intensive aquaculture. Basil (O. basilicum) is a fast-growing commercial crop commonly grown in aquaponic systems by commercial growers. The volatile oil of basil was isolated within the Discipline of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Grigore T. Popa Iaşi, The evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of the volatile oil of basil (O. basilicum) cultivated in an aquaponic system on the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) was carried out at the Faculty of Biology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iaşi.