Volatile Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Leaves of Chorisia speciosa

In this study, volatile composition of leaves of Chorisia speciosa was studied first time. The oil was extracted by microwave-assisted oil extraction and constituents were separated and characterized by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. A yield of 0.21% was obtained and a total of 25 constituents were identified. Most dominating constituents were: caryophyllene (32.26 %), bicyclogermacrene (9.88 %), humulene (9.26 %), alpha-selinene (9.18 %) and beta-elemene (8.06 %). The anti-bacterial activity of volatile oil was also evaluated against four pathogenic strains. The oil showed different zones of inhibition against different microbes where strongest activity was found against S. aureus (25 mm), moderate activity (15 mm) against E. coli and no activity against S. typhi (9 mm) at the dose value of 3.64 mg. The observed antibacterial activity was due to the presence of various biologically active major and minor constituents.