Abstract
Background: Vietnam is a tropical country blessed with many plants. The majority of these floras have not been exploited for their chemical constituents and biological potential. In an attempt to source for natural products to combat microbial infections, plant products can act in this regard. The aim of this paper was to report the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil from Amomum glabrum growing in Vietnam.
Methods: The leaves and rhizomes of Amomum glabrum S.Q.Tong (Zingiberaceae) were collected from Pù Hoạt Nature Reserve, 18°17′15″N, 105°21′39″E, north-central Vietnam, at an elevation of 124 m in October 2018. The fresh samples were subjected to hydrodistillation process using Clevenger-apparatus to obtain essential oils. The essential oils were subjected to gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The antimicrobial activity was determined by microdilution broth susceptibility assay. All experiments were done in triplicate analyses.
Results: The major compounds in the leaf essential oil were β-pinene (62.2%) and α-pinene (13.1%) while the rhizome oil comprised mainly of β-pinene (53.7%), α-pinene (10.1%) and fenchyl acetate (11.3%). The antimicrobial study showed that the leaf essential oil was active against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 299212, Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231 with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 4.23 µg/mL, 67.98 µg/mL and 1.56 µg/mL respectively, while MIC values of 18.67 µg/mL, 9.78 µg/mL and 10.23 µg/mL respectively were shown by the rhizome essential oil towards the same microorganisms. Both essential oils inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 with the MIC value of 5.67 µg/mL.
Conclusion: This study, therefore, concludes that the essential oils from the leaves and rhizomes of A. glabrum possess antimicrobial effect which may be due to the compounds present therein. This report, the first of its kind, indicates the potential of A. glabrum essential oils as sources of antimicrobial principle.
Keywords: Amomum glabrum; essential oil composition; α-pinene; β-pinene; fenchyl acetate; antimicrobial activity
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