Chemical Composition, Antibacterial Activity of the Essential Oil from Roots of Radix aucklandiae against Selected Food-Borne Pathogens

Abstract

Radix aucklandiae from\rYunnan Province in China is a significant medicinal plant. In the present study,\rthe essential oil composition from Radix aucklandiae roots was investigated\rby gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total\rof 23 compounds representing 57.95% of the essential oil were tentatively\ridentified. The main constituents were eremanthin (12.74%), d-Guaiene (6.26%), ζ-Himachalene (6.16%) and l-Caryophyllene\r(4.84%). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal\rconcentration (MBC) of the essential oil from R. aucklandiae were evaluated against three Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus\ralbus and Bacillus subtilis) three Gram-negative bacteria\r(Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli and Shigella dysenteriae). Results revealed\rthat the essential oil exhibited significant in vitro antimicrobial property. Among all the tested\rmicroorganisms, the essential oil showed the strongest inhibitory effect against S. typhimurium. The data of this\rstudy suggests that the essential oil from Radix\raucklandiae has great potential for application as a natural antimicrobial\ragent to preserve food.