Chemical composition of Citrus limon (Eureka variety) essential oil and evaluation of its antioxidant and antibacterial activities

Abstract

The study evaluates the chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial effects properties of essential oil of Citrus limon (Eureka) extracted by hydrodistillation. The composition of this oil was analysed by GC/MS for 30 constituents, which accounted for 97.8% of total oil. The main components were limonene (61.3%) followed by β-pinene (9.7%), α-citral (4.2%) and α-terpinene (3.8%). Antioxidant activity of the C. limon essential oil was evaluated by using DPPH radical scavenging and β-carotenelinoleic acid bleaching. In both tests, the oil showed antioxidant property close to that of positive control (α-tocopherol). The essential oil was tested against nine bacteria (two Gram+: Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 and seven Gram: Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Salmonella enterica, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Serratia marescens, Proteus mirabilis) by using disc diffusion and microdilution methods. C. limon essential oil showed antimicrobial effect against all microorganisms tested. Maximum activity (MIC = 180 μg.ml-1) was observed against Staphylococcus aureus.

Physicochemical Indexes and Evaluation of Antioxidant, Antihemolytic and Antibacterial Activities of Citrus sinensis and Citrus limon Peel Essential Oils

“…This compares favorably with the findings of other researchers. The percentage yield of volatile oil from C. sinensis and C. limon has been reported by hydrodistillation as 2 and 1.5 %, respectively by Sharma and Vashist (2015) [22], as 0.81 ± 0.092% for C. limon [23], as 0.57 to 3.24 for C. sinensis by Soxhlet apparatus [24]. Golmakani and Moayyedi (2015) [25] mentioned 1.36 ± 0.06 %, 1.18± 0.08 and 1.22±0.14 % in C. limon peel oil in different method of oil extractions viz., solvent-free microwave extraction, microwave assisted hydrodistillation and hydrodistillation respectively.…”

The Development of the Antibacterial Microcapsules of Citrus Essential Oil for the Cosmetotextile Application: A Review

“…Himed et al [44] investigated the antibacterial properties of EOs against nine bacteria, two of which were Gram-positive Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) and S. aureus, and seven of which were Gram-negative: E. coli P. aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica (S. enterica), K. pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes (E. aerogenes), Serratia marescens (S. marescens), and Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis). The EOs of C. limon showed an antimicrobial effect against all tested microorganisms.…”

“…The plant parts taken were the fruit peel. The methods used most are the hydrodistillation [44,[60][61][62][63][64], microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) [65], solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME), and microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) [66]. GC-MS analysis discovered 101 types of chemical components with varied compositions.…”