Abstract

Essential oil was extracted from the fresh and dried peels of Citrus macroptera fruits following hydro-distillation method and fixed oil was isolated using Soxhlet extraction apparatus. The organoleptic characteristics, yield and other physical properties were determined for both the oils. Volatile components of the essential oils were identified using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Antibacterial effects were estimated against different pathogenic strains including Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtillis and Escherichia coli. Both preliminary thin layer chromatography method and quantitative 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging activity were performed to evaluate the antioxidant potential of the oils and were compared against the standard ascorbic acid. Percent yield of the essential oil from the fresh and dried peels were 0.113 and 0.201 %, respectively, while the yield of fixed oil was found to be 3.12 %. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry demonstrated that the essential oils from the dried and fresh peels was composed of about 20 volatile components. The IC50 values determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging activity were 90.56 and 73.010 μg/ml, respectively for essential oils extracted from the fresh and dried peels.