Chemical Examination and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils from the Leaves and Rhizomes of Meistera caudata Šída f. & Škorničk. (Zingiberaceae)

Meistera caudata is a new endemic Vietnamese species that belong to the Zingiberaceae family. In the present work, the chemical compositions of essential oils (EOs) from M. caudata leaves and rhizomes and their antimicrobial activities were reported for the first time. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/ MS) analytical results revealed that alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, and camphene were the most abundant components in both EO samples. Specifically, the leaves EO contained 27.61% of alpha-pinene, 21.29% of beta-pinene, and 8.62% of camphene while the figures for the rhizomes EO were 10.37%, 9.69%, and 12.1%, respectively. The EOs were also shown to exhibit strong antimicrobial activities against several pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains with MIC values ranging from 8-128 mu g/mL, with the most potent activity against Enterococcus faecalis (8 mu g/mL). Keywords: Antimicrobial activity, essential oil, Meistera caudata.