Comparison of volatile compounds and antibacterial activity of Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus latifolia, and Citrus hystrix shell essential oils by pilot extraction

Abstract Citrus peel essential oil has considerable potential to be used as a direct agent against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The three citrus peel species used in this study included Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus latifolia, and Citrus hystrix. Essential oils were extracted on a pilot model and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subilits, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Samonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were used to counteract the antibacterial effects of the samples. The yield of hydrodistillation distilled essential oil is C aurantifolia (1.15%), C latifolia (1.32%), and C hystrix (3.18%). The essential oil contains the main ingredient D-Limonene. The highest antibacterial activity against L. monocytogenes is Citrus latifolia essential oil. The main chemical composition of essential oils are β-pinene, D-limonene, γ-terpinene, terpinolene, α-terpineol, … and the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil is affected by the variation of D-limonene. and β-pinene in essential oils.