THE CHEMICAL AND MEDICINAL POTENTIALS OF THE FRUIT ESSENTIAL OIL OF Chrysophyllum cainito (INDIA STAR APPLE)

Abstract

Chrysophyllum cainito is a lesser-known fruit with several medicinal applications. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, GC/GC-MS. Twenty components were identified in the essential oil, the oil was characterized by a high proportion of fatty acids (69.37%) represented by pyruvic acid, 10-hendecenoic acid, E-9-tetradecenoic acid, pentadecanoic acid, hexodecacanoic acid, and cis-9-octadecenoic acid. The oil yield was 0.19 v/w of the wet sample and its compositional profile showed markedly qualitative and quantitative variation with essential oil from Cuba. This essential oil was seen to be active against gram-positive bacteria, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Samonella typhimurium, and Proteus mirabilis, and also gram-negative bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus agalactia.