The Chemical Composition and in vitro Antifungal Activities of Essential Oils of Five Eucalyptus Species

Abstract: This study was designed to examine the chemical composition of essential oils of three Eucalyptus spices (E. spathulata, E. microtheca, and E. torquata) and in vitro antifungal activities of the essential oils of five Eucalyptus spices (E. largiflorens, E. oleosa, E. spathulata, E. microtheca, and E. torquata). The chemical composition of the hydrodistilled essential oils of leaves of these three spices were analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. The predominant and common components in the all oils were α-pinene (2.3 - 14.5 ), 1,8- cineole (6.6 - 69.6 ), terpinen-4-ol (0.8 - 9.6 ), α-terpineol (1.1 - 4.3 ), aromadenderene (0.3 - 10.5 ) and viridiflorol (0.0 - 5.7 ). The antifungal activities of essential oils have been investigated by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and disc diffusion methods against A. flavus, A. parasiticus, A. niger, P. chryzogenum and P. citrinum. A high antifungal activity was found in the leaf oil of E. largiflorens. The relationship between the some major constituents and the antifungal activity was also discussed. We concluded that the terpinen-4-ol may be considered as correspond antifungal constituent. © 2015 Har Krishan Bhalla & Sons