Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and Antioxidant Properties of Essential Oil from the Rhizomes of Hedychium forrestii var. palaniense Sanoj and M. Sabu

The essential oil constituents of rhizomes of Hedychium forrestii var. palaniense were analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 26 constituents comprising 68.20% of the oils were identified. The volatile fraction was characterized by monoterpene hydrocarbons (42.31%), oxygenated monoterpenes (38.46%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (15.38%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (3.85%). The predominant constituents identified were β-pinene (18.30%), β-linalool (17.80%), 1,8-cineole (12.00%), and 4-terpineol (5.50%). Sesquiterpenoids were present only in negligible quantities. The antibacterial activities of the essential oil was evaluated against ten bacteria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most susceptible organism with a zone of inhibition of 42.16±0.76 mm. Additionally, the essential oil showed promising radical scavenging and electron donating activity.