Essential oil composition and antibacterial activity of Zanthoxylum bungeanum
Keywords:
Zanthoxylum bungeanum, essential oil, chemical composition, antibacterial activity, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).Abstract
The chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oil from the fruits of Zanthoxylum
bungeanum were evaluated. Twenty-eight compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass
spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, representing 94.30% of the total oil. The major constituents of the
essential oil were found to be limonene (29.36%), linalool (17.02%), β-pinene (14.31%) and linalyl acetate
(13.84%). The essential oil showed an obvious antibacterial activity against the tested strains
(Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus laterosporus laubach and
Escherichia coli) with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal
concentration (MBC) in the ranges of 1.25-5.0 and 2.5-20 mg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, the essential
oil showed strongly detrimental effects on the growth and morphological structure of the tested
bacteria. So, it is suggested that Zanthoxylum bungeanum could be used as antibacterial agent in food
industry.
