Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oil Extracted from the Peels of Citrus limetta Against the Enteric Fever Pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66220/92b6a621Keywords:
Horticulture waste, Hydro distillation, Essential oils, GCMS, Enteric feverAbstract
Horticultural waste, though historically overlooked, serves as a valuable reservoir of bioactive compounds. Addressing the valorization of citrus byproducts, this study investigates the extraction and antimicrobial properties of essential oils derived from sweet lime (Citrus limetta) peels. Essential oils were extracted via hydrodistillation, isolated, and initially characterized using thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Subsequent qualitative profiling was conducted using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), which revealed a diverse array of bioactive compounds, with limonene identified as a predominant constituent. The antimicrobial efficacy of the extracted oil was evaluated against clinical isolates of Salmonella typhi, the causative agent of enteric fever, utilizing the agar well diffusion method to assess zones of inhibition. Given the significant antimicrobial properties of limonene, the extract demonstrated strong inhibitory effects. To our knowledge, this is the first study to establish the in vitro antibacterial activity of sweet lime essential oil against Salmonella typhi, highlighting its potential therapeutic application as a natural treatment alternative for typhoid fever.
Downloads
References
1. Kaza S, Yao LC, Bhada-Tata P, Van Woerden F, Levine D. What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. Washington, DC: World Bank; 2018. doi: 10.1596/978-1-4648-1329-0.
2. UNEP. Food Waste Index Report 2024. Think Eat Save Tracking Progress to Halve Global Food Waste.2024.
3. Martins R, Sales H, Pontes R, Nunes J, Gouveia I. Food Wastes and Microalgae as Sources of Bioactive Compounds and Pigments in a Modern Biorefinery: A Review. Antioxidants. 2023 Jan 31;12(2):328. doi: 10.3390/antiox12020328.
4. Turner T, Burri B. Potential Nutritional Benefits of Current Citrus Consumption. Agriculture. 2013 Mar 19;3(1):170–87. doi: 10.3390/agriculture3010170.
5. Liu G, Zhang X, Cao Q, Chen T, Hu B, Shi H. The global burden of typhoid and paratyphoid fever from 1990 to 2021 and the impact on prevention and control. BMC Infect Dis. 2025 Jul 15;25(1):919. doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-11223-8.
6. Piovani D, Figlioli G, Nikolopoulos GK, Bonovas S. The global burden of enteric fever, 2017–2021: a systematic analysis from the global burden of disease study 2021. EClinicalMedicine. 2024 Nov;77:102883. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102883.
7. Wagner H, Bladt S. Plant Drug Analysis. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 1996. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-00574-9.
8. Pascual ME, Carretero ME, Slowing KV, Villar A. Simplified Screening by TLC of Plant Drugs. Pharm Biol. 2002 Jan 29;40(2):139–43. doi: 10.1076/phbi.40.2.139.5849.
9. de los Angeles Fernandez M, Assof M, Jofre V, Silva MF. Volatile Profile Characterization of Extra Virgin Olive Oils from Argentina by HS-SPME/GC-MS and Multivariate Pattern Recognition Tools. Food Anal Methods. 2014 Nov 17;7(10):2122–36. doi: 10.1007/s12161-014-9854-2.
10. Rocha AC, Palma C, Bettencourt da Silva RJN. Development and validation of statistically sound criteria for the match of unweathered GC-MS fingerprints in oil spill forensics. Chemosphere. 2022 Feb;289:133085. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133085.
11. Verghese R, Mathew S, David A. Antimicrobial activity of Vitamin C demonstrated on uropathogenic Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Journal of Current Research in Scientific Medicine. 2017;3(2):88. doi: 10.4103/jcrsm.jcrsm_35_17.
12. Tasdemir D, Dönmez A, Çalıs I, Rüedi P. Evaluation of Biological Activity of Turkish Plants. Rapid Screening for the Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Potential by TLC Bioautographic Methods. Pharm Biol. 2004 Jan 29;42(4–5):374–83. doi: 10.1080/13880200490519695.
13. DH G, R J, S S, N S. GC-MS Analysis of essential oil from Corchorus olitorius L. J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2024 Jan 1;13(4):318–22. doi: 10.22271/phyto.2024.v13.i4d.15024.
14. Frassinetti S, Caltavuturo L, Cini M, Della Croce CM, Maserti BE. Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oils from Citrus spp. Journal of Essential Oil Research. 2011 Jan;23(1):27–31. doi: 10.1080/10412905.2011.9700427.
15. Olatunya AM, Olatunya OS, Hassan GF, Adeyemi LA, Oyelami OA, Akintayo ET. Antimicrobial activities of essential oils from three species of citrus fruits against six infectious tropical bacteria: implications for the care and control of common bacterial tropical diseases in developing countries. Discover Applied Sciences. 2024 Apr 9;6(4):209. doi: 10.1007/s42452-024-05813-5.
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Madan Kumar D, Dr. Nithiya Soundari M (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
In submitting an article to the Journal of PhytoPharmaceutical and Advanced Chemistry (JPPAC) I certify that:
- I am authorized by my co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- I warrant, on behalf of myself and my co-authors, that:
- the article is original, has not been formally published in any other peer-reviewed journal, is not under consideration by any other journal and does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third party rights;
- I am/we are the sole author(s) of the article and have full authority to enter into this agreement and in granting rights to JPPAC are not in breach of any other obligation;
- the article contains nothing that is unlawful, libellous, or which would, if published, constitute a breach of contract or of confidence or of commitment given to secrecy;
- I/we have taken due care to ensure the integrity of the article. To my/our - and currently accepted scientific - knowledge all statements contained in it purporting to be facts are true and any formula or instruction contained in the article will not, if followed accurately, cause any injury, illness or damage to the user.
- I, and all co-authors, agree that the article, if editorially accepted for publication, shall be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
- I, and all co-authors, agree that, if the article is editorially accepted for publication in the Journal of PhytoPharmaceutical and Advanced Chemistry (JPPAC) data included in the article shall be made available under the Creative Commons 1.0 Public Domain Dedication waiver, unless otherwise stated. For the avoidance of doubt it is stated that sections 1, 2, and 3 of this license agreement shall apply and prevail.
