Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) Seed Essential Oil

Abstract

This work aimed to isolate the essential oil from the nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) seed, to determine the qualitative and quantitative chemical composition of the obtained essential oil, as well as to examine its antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. The essential oil was obtained by Clevenger-type hydrodistillation from the disintegrated nutmeg seed (hydromodulus 1:15 m/V, extraction time 180 minutes). The qualitative and quantitative chemical composition of the nutmeg essential oil was determined by GC/MS and GC/FID analysis. Twenty-five compounds were identified in the nutmeg essential oil and the most abundant was monoterpene hydrocarbon sabinene (42.3 %). The antioxidant activity was spectrophotometrically examined by using DPPH assay. The nutmeg essential oil showed a good antioxidant activity after incubation (EC50 = 1.35 ± 0.003 mg/ml). The antimicrobial activity of the nutmeg essential oil was examined by using a disc diffusion method on Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, B. luteus, Listeria monocytogenes), Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris) and fungus (Candida albicans). The essential oil showed good antifungal and antibacterial activity. The anticandidal activity of the essential oil (28 mm) was comparable to the activity of conventional antifungal drug nystatin (17 mm). Of the tested Gram-positive bacteria, the most sensitive was B. luteus with the inhibition zone diameter of 23 mm, while the tested Gram-negative bacteria showed lower sensitivity. The isolated nutmeg essential oil has the potential for use in the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industry as a natural antioxidant and an antimicrobial agent.