CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL FROM THE PEEL OF SHATIAN PUMMELO (CITRUS GRANDIS OSBECK)

The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the peel of Shatian pummelo was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Twenty-one components were identified. The monoterpenes and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were the principal compound groups with 96.64% (w/w) of the total oil, among which, limonene was observed dominant (89.96 +/- 1.64%), followed by beta-myrcene (4.49 +/- 0.38%), alpha-pinene (0.63 +/- 0.05%), 3-carene (0.48 +/- 0.04%), caryophyllene (0.47 +/- 0.04%), and other minor constitutes. Esters, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, and ether represented 3.15% of the total oil. Results by the disc diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration determination method showed that the essential oil contained a wide-spectrum antimicrobial activity against Penicillium chrysogenum ATCC 10106, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 21616, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, with their inhibition zones ranging from 8.27 +/- 1.07 mm to 20.71 +/- 1.50 mm. The MIC values were ranging from 4.69 to 37.50 mu L/mL. However, no inhibition effect was observed on the Aspergillus niger ATCC 16888.