Abstract:In order to compare the constituents and antibacterial activities of three essential oils from lemongrass, jasmine and turmeric, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used in this experiment to analyze the composition of the samples, and then filtration with filter paper and serial dilution method were applied to examine the antibacterial ability of these samples. The experimental results indicated that the main characteristic components of turmeric essential oil were curcumin (12.87%), aromatic curcumin (38.53%) and gingerone (20.36%), with the antibacterial components including camphene (2.38%); The main components of lemongrass essential oil were limonene (12.72%), citral (8.52%) and terpinolene (17.53%), with citral (8.52%) being the antibacterial component; The main components of jasmine essential oil were linalool (11.88%), benzyl acetate (9.31%) and cinnamaldehyde (31.87%), with cinnamaldehyde (31.87%) as the component with antibacterial activity. The inhibition zone diameters of lemongrass essential oil, jasmine essential oil and turmeric essential oil against Staphylococcus aureus were 20.10 mm, 10.22 mm and 7.84 mm, respectively, with that of the positive control Nisin being 13.40 mm. The above three essential oils all contained substances with certain antibacterial activities, and exhibited antibacterial properties in the inhibition zone test. Compared with Nisin, the inhibition effect decreased in order of lemongrass essential oil > jasmine essential oil > turmeric essential oil.
