Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oil from Etlingera punicea Rhizome

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the chemical compositions and the antimicrobial activities of the essential oil from rhizome of Etlingera punicea (Roxb.) R.M. Smith. The rhizome of plant is used as spice and ingredient in noodle and curry in Thailand. Essential oil from rhizome of the plant was extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC/MS. The major composition of the essential oil is methyl chavicol. This essential oil possesses fungicidal activity against Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and shows bacteriostatic activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella albany DMST 10641, whilst no activity was found on gram negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 by agar disc diffusion assay. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Candida albicans ATCC 10231 was further determined by broth microdilution assay which was 45%v/v.