## 4 Discussion  
In the current study, we attempted to obtain new and valid data about the structure and activity of bioactive compounds provided from Western Romanian Carpathians _Juniperus communis_, which confirmed to be distinctive from others, especially in the case of pinene structures (which, in our case, were superior).  
Today there comparative studies associated with the composition and activity of juniper essential oils from different countries are available, and most investigators have shown that there are noteworthy differences in their chemical composition, dissimilarities that are due to soil type, climate, precipitation, temperature, and time of harvest [25].  
The most noticeable differentiation was related to the content of pinene structures, which varied high and low, when compared with previous data [5; 25; 31].  
In this respect, we tried to fulfill the lack of information, observing that, in the case of WRC _Juniper communis_, the most elevated concentrations of the major four volatile compounds identified were for \(\beta\)-pinene (34.02%), 1\(\upalpha\)-pinene (30.43%), p-cymol (20.25%), and \(\beta\)-myrcene (10.20%); the results added new data to those of other investigators of this topic, who have revealed that juniper oil is composed mostly of monoterrene hydrocarbons, most frequently \(\upalpha\)-pinene, \(\beta\)-pinene, sabinene, mirene, limonene, fenchene, and carene [20].  
Figure 4: Comparative statistical and mean values for juniper oil tested for inhibition of _Escherichia coli_ (*** = \(p\) < 0.001).  
Figure 3: Comparative statistical and mean values for juniper oil tested for inhibition of _Pseudomonas aeruginosa_ (ns = not significant).  
However, the presence of the other classes' structures, such as hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpers, can also have an active role and contribute to the biological activity of juniper berries EOs [31]. This was also observed by [PERSON] et al. [13, 15], who established that the inhibitory effect of juniper EO adjacent to _Mycobacterium_ spp. could be due to the abovementioned monoterperne hydrocarbons that can certainly pass the lipidic bi-layer, causing injury to cells.  
In a comprehensive study, [PERSON] et al. [5] identified a total of 97 compounds in juniper OE from Portugal. The EO was characterized and revealed a high content in \(\alpha\)-pinene (41.6%), followed by \(\beta\)-pinene (27.6%), but different comparatively with our investigation in Romanian EO, where the obtained percentage was lower for \(\alpha\)-pinene, but higher for \(\beta\)-pinene. The synergic activity of the identified components in Romanian juniper, and especially for \(\beta\)-pinene (34.02%) and 1\(\alpha\)-pinene (30.43%), was also evaluated as MIC with comparable efficacy in the case of _S. aureus_, _C. albicans_, _MRSA_, and _A. baumannii_[22].  
Moreover, the obtained results allowed us to state that the antibacterial activity of WRC juniper's essential oil is more elevated for Gram-positive pathogens than for the Gram-negative ones. Compared to the control, the reduction in bacterial density was significantly higher for all volumes of essential oils used, but especially for the 10 \(\mu\)L volume, with peak reduction of _Staphylococcus aureus_ strain (74.54%), recommending the Romanian essential oil as a beneficial antibacterial resource with multifarious applications.  
The results are comparable to those of other researchers in the field, who claim that the essential oil of _Juniper communis_ was active against _Escherichia coli_ and _Staphylococcus aureus_, but not _Pseudomonas aeruginosa_, which seems to be resistant to this essential oil [11, 21, 24].