AbstractThe antimicrobial effects of the sesquiterpene T‐cadinol, isolated from the Somalian traditional remedy, scented myrrh (resin ofCommiphora guidottiiChiov., Burseraceae), were investigated. The compound was found to be active towardStaphylococcus aureusandTrichophyton mentagrophytes.The minimum inhibitory concentration of T‐cadinol onS. aureuswas 24 μg/mL and the lowest concentration exerting fungicidal effect onT. mentagrophyteswas 2.3 μg/mL. The influence of T‐cadinol cell viability inS. aureus, both in different growth‐phases, and in the absence and presence of chloramphenicol, was studied. It could be concluded that T‐cadinol has a bactericidal rather than a bacteriostatic effect, which acts also in the absence of growth. Furthermore, the effect of T‐cadinol onS. aureuswas analysed and documented with transmission electron microscopy. The electron micrographs clearly showed that T‐cadinol interacted with the cell envelopes, causing bacterial lysis and subsequent fatal loss of intracellular material. The effect of the substance was thus characterized as bacteriolytic. The use of scented myrrh in traditional medicine as a remedy for wounds may then be in congruence with this bactericidal effect of T‐cadinol toward the common wound