Antimicrobial activities and chemical composition of the essential oils from dry peels of C. aurantium

Abstract

This study was aimed to look at the in vitro antimicrobial activities and chemical components of the volatile oil obtained from dry peels of Citrus aurantium (bitter orange). The essential oils of this plant were obtained by steam distillation technique and chemical compositions were analyzed by exploring chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. The susceptible effects of this oil were tested against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Candida albican (C. albican) by using agar disc diffusion and dilution broth techniques. The results obtained were able to reflect its antimicrobial activities against P. aeruginosa and C. albican with zone inhibition diameter of 13 mm and 22 mm when compared with standard antibiotic. In contrast, the oil exhibited wide range of antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and maximum bacteriocidal concentration (MBC) of 250 µg/mL when compare to C. albican with minimum inhibitory concentration of 500 µg/mL and maximum fungicidal concentration (MFC) greater than 500 µg/mL. The GC–MS analysis discovered the presence of D-Limonene with 38.13% that had highest share space follow by (-)-β-Fenchol with 6.83%. These might accounted for the antimicrobial properties of the essential oils. The encouraging results indicate the essential oils of C. aurantium may well be exploited as natural antibiotic for the management of many infectious disease elicited by these microorganisms.