Chemical Composition, Antifungal and Insecticidal Activities of Hedychium Essential Oils

Abstract

The antimicrobial properties of essential oils have been documented, and their use as “biocides” is gaining popularity. The aims of this study were to analyze the chemical composition and assess the biological activities of Hedychium essential oils. Oils from 19 Hedychium species and cultivars were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques. The antifungal and insecticidal activities of these oils were tested against Colletotrichum acutatum, C. fragariae, and C. gloeosporioides, and three insects, the azalea lace bug (Stephanitis pyrioides), the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti), and the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta). Hedychium oils were rich in monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, especially 1,8-cineole (0.1%–42%), linalool (<0.1%–56%), α-pinene (3%–17%), β-pinene (4%–31%), and (E)-nerolidol (0.1%–20%). Hedychium oils had no antifungal effect on C. gloeosporioides, C. fragariae, and C. acutatum, but most Hedychium oils effectively killed azalea lace bugs. The oils also show promise as an adult mosquito repellent, but they would make rather poor larvicides or adulticides for mosquito control. Hedychium oils acted either as a fire ant repellent or attractant, depending on plant genotype and oil concentration.

Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and Antioxidant Properties of Essential Oil from the Rhizomes of Hedychium forrestii Var. Palaniense Sanoj and M. Sabu

“…Monoterpene constituents detected in the present study such as 4-thujanol, fenchol, p-menth-2-en-1-ol, camphor, pinocarvone and bornyl acetate were absent in the earlier reports [18] . At the same time the monoterpenes detected in the essential oil of H. forrestii like, sabinene, myrcene, limonene, cymene, translinalool oxide and cis-linalool oxide were not found in the present study.…”

“…It is interesting to see that, though the oils of both taxa contained monoterpenes (87.5% in H. forrestii) and sesquiterpenes (8.33% in H. forrestii), hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes were not detected in H. forrestii. However, a diterpene was found in the rhizome essential oil of H. forrestii [18] .…”

“…palaniense Sanoj and M Sabu and H. forrestii Diels which is a close relative of the taxon studied [18] . Sakhanokho et al [18] reported that the major components in the essential oil from dried rhizomes of H. forrestii were characterized by linalool (56%), β-pinene (14%) and 1,8-cineole (10.1%) and found that the oil differs quantitatively from those of H. forrestii var. palaniense.…”

Composition, antibacterial and anti-oxidant potentials of the essential oil of Hedychium matthewii

“…It has been reported that rhizome oil of H. thyrsiforme, H. flavum and H. bousigonianum were dominated by 1,8 cineole, whereas linalool was the major constituent in H. forrestii and H. coccineum. -Pinene was also found to be the major rhizome oil component in H. elatum and H. flavescens (Sakhanokho et al, 2013). …”

“…Hedychium species are a good source of various essential oil compounds having medicinal and other industrial applications (Sakhanokho et al, 2013). The essential oil obtained from leaves of H. coronarium constituted -pinene as the major compound (Raj et al, 2013), whereas -ocimene and linalool as the major constituents in its flower oil (Báez et al, 2011) and 1,8 cineole as the major compound in rhizome oil (Joy et al, 2007).…”