Essential oils are used as therapeutic agents in aromatherapy. In this study, the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils from the epicarp of Afraegle paniculata fruits from Nigeria were evaluated. The essential oil was obtained via hydro distillation and chemical components of the oils were analysed on Agilent Technologies 7890A gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry system. Antimicrobial assay was performed by disc diffusion method. GC-MS analysis revealed sixteen compounds consisting mainly of oxygenated monoterpene (39.61 %), esters (15.3 %), sesquiterpenes (13.1 %) and sesquiterpene alcohol (9.42 %). The oil showed appreciable activity against all the tested microorganisms except Aspergillus niger. At concentration of 1000 μg/ml, the inhibitory effect observed for S. aureus was 16 mm followed by 15 mm for B. subtilis and 7 mm for P. aeruginosa. The findings suggest that essential oil from A. paniculata fruits could serve as a valuable raw material for perfumery and cosmetic products. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 22(1): 73-80, 2023 (June)

Carbohydrate, protein and oil are major products stored in specialized structures of the plants such as seeds, fruit pulp and tubers. Analysis of the contents of these products is very important for estimating quality of food. This review analyses and correlates the content of carbohydrate, protein and lipid in seed, fruit pulp, and seed coat of ninety-six plants. Data were based on the storage organ (seed, skin, and fruit pulp). The value for the oil content of the fruits ranged from 0.020±0.0031 % (Carica papaya peel) to 73.20±1.90 % (Elaeis guineensis pulp); protein content was 0.72±0.07 % (Persia americana unripe skin) to 68.40±0.00 % (dried watermelon seeds) while that of carbohydrate was between 0.69±0.20 % (Hura crepitans seed) and 93.13±1.04 % (Carica papaya pulp). The mean of the oil, protein and carbohydrate content of the ninety-eight seeds, skin, fruit pulp and seed coat altogether were 22.02±18.45 %, 29.70±19.59 % and 70.65±13.02 % respectively. Correlation analysis showed that there is a positive correlation between oil and protein content, negative correlation between carbohydrate and protein content and no correlation between oil and carbohydrate content of the samples. It is therefore ascertained that there is a direct relationship between oil and protein content, an inverse relationship between carbohydrate and protein content, and no established relationship between oil and carbohydrate content of plant seeds, skin, and fruit pulp.