Limonene and eucalyptol rich essential oils with their antimicrobial activity from the leaves and rhizomes of Conamomum vietnamense N.S. Lý & T.S. Hoang (Zingiberaceae)

Conamomum vietnamense, a new species of Zingiberaceae family, has been discovered and described from Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands, Vietnam) in 2022. The present study described the preparation of essential oil from leaves and rhizomes of the plant by hydrodistillation process. Then, the chemical composition of these essential oils was analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), which indicated that limonene (18.74 and 26.20%) and eucalyptol (40.47 and 49.49%) were the main components, respectively. The essential oils also showed moderate antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive bacterial strains (Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 299212, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579), Gram-negative bacterial strains (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Salmonella enterica ATCC 13076), and a pathogenic yeast (Candida albicans ATCC 10231) in the MIC range of 32–256 μg/mL, which was comparable to those of positive controls, streptomycin and cycloheximide. For the first time, the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of C. vietnamense were studied.