Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oils of Six Species from Family Myrtaceae

The essential oils of six Myrtaceae species were investigated for their chemical composition and antimicrobial activity. The volatile oils were characterized by four common components i-e alpha-pinene, 1,8-cineole, p-menth-1-en-8-ol and caryophyllene. The Eugenia jambolana essential oil was found rich in alpha-pinene (54.74%) followed by Callistemon citrinus (34.19 %), Myrtus communis (30.73 %), Melaleuca genistifolia (10.19 %) and Melaleuca alternifolia (4.47 %). Callistemon citrinus contained 1,8-cineole in appreciable amount (28.85 %) followed by Melaleuca alternifolia (26.35 %) and Myrtus communis (20.00 %). Melaleuca genistifolia oil contained highest concentration of p-menth-1-en-8-ol (14.66 %) among oils while Callistemon citrinus and Myrtus communis contained p-menth-1-en-8-ol in comparable amounts (10.69 and 9.68 %) respectively. Syzygium caryophyllatum had high content of caryophyllene (96.42 %) while it is found in minor amounts in other selected species (0.01-2.23 %). All the oils showed good antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms. Eugenia jambolana exhibited high antibacterial activity among the oils whereas Syzygium caryophyllatum showed hightest activity against all tested fungal strains.