title: Essential oils of Alpinia rafflesiana and their antimicrobial activities.
abstract: The essential oils from the leaves, pseudostems, rhizomes and fruits of Alpinia rafflesiana were isolated by hydrodistillation. The oils were analysed by capillary GC and GC-MS. The most abundant components in the leaf oil were trans-caryophyllene (32.61%), caryophyllene oxide (8.67%), (2E,6Z)-farnesol (4.91%) and alpha-terpineol (4.25%), while 1,8-cineole (32.25%), myrcene (13.63%), alpha-terpineol (9.90%) and trans-caryophyllene (9.80%) were the main constituents in the pseudostem oil. The rhizome constituted of tetracosane (42.61%), tau-cadinol (7.46%), alpha-terpineol (6.71%) were the major components, whereas tetracosane (13.39%), (2E,6E)-farnesol (7.31%), alpha-terpineol (8.51%) and caryophyllene oxide (8.05%) were the main components in the fruit oil. Antimicrobial assay revealed that all the essential oils showed moderate to weak inhibition against the tested microorganisms. The leaf oil was the most active and inhibited both S. aureus and E. coli with MIC values of 7.81 microg/mL and 15.6 microg/mL, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Johor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Shariha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jusoh
authors.forename: Hasnah Mohd
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Sirat
authors.forename: Farediah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ahmad
mesh_terms: D032429:Alpinia / Q000737:chemistry*; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile