Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oil of <i>Michelia foveolata</i> Merryll ex Dandy from Vietnam

Abstract

Abstract The chemical composition of the volatile oil extracted from aerial parts (twigs, leaves and flowers) of Michelia foveolata growing wild in Vietnam was investigated by combination of column chromatography, GC (retention indices), GC–MS and 13 C‐NMR spectroscopy. Fifty‐eight components were identified, with sabinene (32.4%) and terpinen‐4‐ol (13.7%) as the main constituents. The essential oil was tested against 11 bacteria using the agar disc diffusion method, and exhibited a significant antibacterial activity against Salmonella enterica , Staphylococcus epidermidis , Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus (MICs = 2–4 µl/ml). Copyright © 2007 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.