Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil from the leaf of Magnolia officinalis
Objective: There are many biological active components in the leaf of Magnolia officinalis,to extract and analyze the constituents of the essential oil from the leaf of Magnolia officinalis, This research will provide scientific proof for the search of antimicrobial activity compositions from Magnolia officinalis to empolder this natural resource. Method: The essential oil from the leaf of Magnolia officinalis was extracted by steam distillation, the components of the essential oil were separated and structurally identified by gas chromatlgraphy-mass spectrometry, and some components of the essential oil was calibrated with a standard mixture of homologous n-alkane series. The relative contents of these components by the peak-area normalization method adopted in gas chromatography, the antimicrobial activities of the essential oil against the growth of 4 bacteria and 1 pathogenic yeast were evaluated using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) method. Result: 50 components were separated, 49 components were identified and accounted for 96.20% of the all peak area, the essential oil had antimicrobial activity. Conclusion: The main chemical constituents of the essential oil were sesquiterpenoids compounds, the major components were β-Caryophyllene oxide (32.03%), 4-(2-propenyl)-Phenol (23.12%), Hexadecanoic acid (7.07%), 9,12,15-Octadecantrienoic acid (5.08%), Eudesmanol (4.53%), etc. The result of the antimicrobial activities of the essential oil inhibited the growth of testing bacterias and sterilized them especially against Bacillus subtillis CMCC63501 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25925.