Antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of essential oil from Hedychium coronarium.

The essential oil from fresh and dried rhizomes of Hedychium coronarium on GC-MS analysis resulted in the identification of 44 and 38 constituents representing 93.91% and 95.41%, respectively. The major components of the essential oil from fresh and dried Hedychium coronarium rhizome were 1,8-cineole (41.42%, 37.44%), beta-pinene (10.39%, 17.4%) and alpha-terpineol (8.8%, 6.7%). The aromatic oil has antifungal as well as antibacterial effects. The antimicrobial activities of the essential oil were individually evaluated against four microorganisms, including two bacteria and two fungi. It was found that the antimicrobial activity was higher in the fresh sample than the dried. Both samples showed a better activity against Trichoderma sp. and Candida albicans than against the bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.