Chemical Composition And Antimicrobial Activity Against Food-Borne Pathogens Of Calocedrus Formosana Heartwood Essential Oil

This study investigated the chemical composition, and antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens of the essential oil isolated from the heartwood of Calocedrus formosana from Taiwan. The oil, isolated by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus, was characterized using GC-FID and GC-MS. The major constituents were tau-muurolol (16.1%), alpha-cadinol (11.1%), alpha-terpineol (10.6%), thymol (8.5%), and beta-thujaplicin (4.5%). The oil demonstrated strong activity against food-borne bacterial and fungal pathogens, and, to determine the source compounds responsible for this activity, the main components were individually evaluated. The most active source compounds were determined to be tau-muurolol, alpha-cadinol, thymol, and beta-thujaplicin.