Abstract
Cinnamomum camphora L. is grown as an ornamental plant, used as raw material for furniture, as a source of camphor, and its essential oil can be used as an important source for perfume as well as alternative medicine. A comparative investigation of essential oil compositions and antimicrobial activities of different tissues of C. camphora was carried out. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation with a Clevenger apparatus and their compositions were evaluated through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), enantiomeric composition by chiral GC-MS, and antimicrobial properties were assayed by measuring minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Different plant tissues had different extraction yields, with the leaf having the highest yield. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 18, 75, 87, 67, 67, and 74 compounds in leaf, branch, wood, root, leaf/branch, and leaf/branch/wood, respectively. The significance of combining tissues is to enable extraction of commercial quality essential oils without the need to separate them. The oxygenated monoterpene camphor was the major component in all tissues of C. camphora except for safrole in the root. With chiral GC-MS, the enantiomeric distributions of 12, 12, 13, 14, and 14 chiral compounds in branch, wood, root, leaf/branch, and leaf/branch/wood, respectively, were determined. The variation in composition and enantiomeric distribution in the different tissues of C. camphora may be attributed to the different defense requirements of these tissues. The wood essential oil showed effective antibacterial activity against Serratia marcescens with an MIC of 39.1 μg/mL. Similarly, the mixture of leaf/branch/wood essential oils displayed good antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigatus while the leaf essential oil was notably active against Trichophyton rubrum. C. camphora essential oils showed variable antimicrobial activities against dermal and pulmonary-borne microbes.
Highlights
The highest essential oil yield was observed for the leaf (2.67%), whereas the lowest yield was from the wood (1.0%) of C. camphora
A slightly higher extraction yield was observed compared to previous reports of C. camphora leaf essential oil [12]
Different plant tissues of Cinnamomum camphora L. were collected from the Tribhuwan
Summary
Complex, volatile chemical admixtures of an aromatic odor, extracted as secondary metabolites. Different types of essential oils have their applications in the pharmaceutical and flavoring industries. Consumption of essential oils has risen day by day either directly or indirectly because of consciousness in personal health and hygiene, and as alternative medicines [1]. Bacteria and fungi are encountered everywhere in the biosphere due to their metabolic ability and are grown under a wide range of environmental conditions; many are known to be pathogenic [2]. Essential oils have often been used in lieu of synthetic chemicals to counter microbial attacks that cause food
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