Morphological, chemoprofile and soil analysis comparison of Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) K.D. Hill and L.A.S. Johnson along with the green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles

Objective: The objective of this research study was to identify the morphological characteristics and essential oil components of Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) K. D. Hill and L.A.S. Johnson grown in two different geographical locations-Kodaikanal and Nashik. A comparative soil analysis was also carried out to detect the soil quality under Corymbia citriodora (C. citriodora) plantation. Green synthesis of Iron oxide nanoparticles from C. citriodora leaf extract has been carried out.Methods: Hydro-distillation method was used to extract the essential oils from both the species and GC- MS analysis was carried out to detect the chemical components. A comparative morphological analysis was carried out for both the plant specimens while soil analysis from three different places- forest soil, soil under C. citriodora plantation and agricultural field soil was performed. Iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by using leaf extract of C. citrodora and its reduction by FeSO4.7H2O solution was found. The structural properties of Iron oxide nanoparticles were studied by UV, X-ray diffraction, FTIR and SEM.Results: The morphological result showed that both the C. citriodora species had the same characteristics with a slight variation in the bark and leaf colour. The essential oil profile showed citronellol as the major compound in both the species, dI- Isopulegol was found only in C. citriodora from Kodaikanal in more concentration (less than citronellol) while the eucalyptol content was found to be more in Nashik species. For soil analysis it was observed that, even though the soil in the C. citriodora area is more acidic than forest soil, with lower quantities of organic matter and minerals, it also has high levels of organic matter and nutrients, as well as low pH when compared to the soil in agricultural field. The characterisation of iron oxide nanoparticles by UV, FTIR, XRD and SEM confirmed its formation.Conclusions: The two varieties of C. citriodora from two different locations have not shown wide differences in their morphological characters. The amount of essential oil was observed to be low in Nashik when compared to Kodaikanal, which is due to the geographical area difference. These results showed that the essential oil content varies depending on location, as well as the fact that C. citriodora has little or no negative effects on soil quality. The green method used for synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles was found to be effective.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).