Investigation of biological activities of essential oil obtained from peel of wild orange in Quang Ngai by steam distillation

Abstract

Wild orange abundantly and naturally occuring in mountainous regions of Western Quang Ngai (Vietnam) has been commonly collected and consumed as a unique fruit with a low economic value. In this study, to propose the healthy benefits from this wild fruit, steam distillation was applied to extract essential oil from its peel with an extraction efficiency of approx. 3.85 wt.%. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to evaluate the chemical makeup of the essential oil obtained, in which, D-limonene (78.4%) and β-myrcene (2.4%) were found to be the most significant among 44 detected compounds. The in vitro antifungal activity of the essential oil against Candida Albicans (C.albicans) and Malassezia Furfur (M.furfur) was discovered using the zone-of-inhibition (ZOI) method. The experimental result showed that the inhibition to C.albicans was significant at a high concentration of the essential oil while the inhibition to M.furfur was better even at a low concentration (2.5 mg/mL) with an inhibitory ring diameter of 27 ± 0.3 mm, proving the great potential of this essential oil towards pharmaceutical and biological applications.