Physicochemical properties, chemical components, and antibacterial activity of Melaleuca cajuputi Powell essential oil leaves from Quang Tri Province, Vietnam

Essential oil (EO) was extracted from Melaleuca cajuputi Powell leaves using the steam distillation method. The main aim of this study is to determine several physicochemical properties of EO, including acid value, saponification value, ester value, relative density, absolute density, and freezing point. In addition, the chemical components were also analyzed using the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method. The obtained 1,8-cineol content is quite high (71.83%). In addition, these components in EO had an antioxidant capacity and antibacterial activity, including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (using the paper disc diffusion method for antibiotic susceptibility testing). Particularly, this EO inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Salmonella enteritidis (ATCC 13076), and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923). KEY WORDS: Antimicrobial activity, Antioxidant capacity, GC-MS, Essential oil, Melaleuca cajuputi Powell. Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2021, 35(3), 677-683. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v35i3.18