Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Properties of Curcuma longa Volatile Oil and Extracts against Selected Bacterial Isolates
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2026-1010-4992Keywords:
Antibacterial agents, Bacteria, Curcuma longa, Chemical composition, Gas chromatography analysisAbstract
Curcuma longa is a bright yellow-orange rhizome used for traditional medicine as well as spices in cooking. This plant is made up of some bioactive compounds. This study evaluated chemicals composition and antibacterial properties of C. longa volatile oil and extracts against selected bacteria. Clevenger apparatus was used to hydro-distillate fresh C. longa. Non-volatile compounds were extracted using solvents such as methanol and n-hexane. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to determine the chemical constituents of the oil and extracts. Antibacterial activity was assessed using agar-well diffusion method. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was determined using microdilusion assay. The result showed that eighty-four (84) compounds were detected in C. longa volatile oil, with ar-turmerone (19.01%) as the predominant constituents, followed by 1H-3a,7-methanoazulene,2,3,4,7,8,8a-hexahydro-3,6,8,8-tetramethyl-[3R-(3,alpha.,3a.beta.,7.beta.,8a.alpha.)] (10.13%) and benzene, 1-(1,5-dimethyl-4-hexenyl)-4-methyl (10.01%). Moderate amounts of turmerone (7.29%) and (+)-4-carene (4.74%) were also detected. Turmerone (13.39%) and 14-beta-H-pregna (9.05%) were present in Curcuma longa n-hexane extract contained seventy two (72) compounds while for methanol extract turmerone (12.46%) and 14-beta-H-pregna (8.72%) were found with a total of 109 compounds. The extracts and volatile oil inhibited bacteria that include Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella ornithinolytica and Citrobacter gillenii. The n-hexane extract significantly exhibited inhibition zones of 28±1.03, 26±1.63, and 25±0.33 mm against C. gillenii, K. ornithinolytica, and S. aureus, respectively. The MIC results indicated that volatile oil exhibited significant activity against K. ornithinolytica at a concentration of 6.25 mg/ml. This study revealed that volatile oils and extracts of C. longa possess potential as a natural agent against certain clinical bacterial species.
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