The antibacterial activity of essential oil of five Indonesian herbs has been studied. The essential oil produced from different parts of plants (lime, lemon, Surinam cherry, fennel, and toothache plants) were extracted by water steam or hydro distillation and then examined by GCMS. The antibacterial activities of the essential oils were determined by measuring MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration), whereas some bacterial strains were used in this study such as follows: Staphylococcus aureus FNCC 0047, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051, B. cereus FNCC 0057, Escherichia coli IFO 0091, Pseudomonas cepacia FNCC 0063, and P. aeruginosa FNCC 0063, respectively. All the five samples used in this experiment have antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria appear more resistant than Gram-positive bacteria. By using MIC measurement the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria showed different sensitivities toward essential oils. Among the material study, the essential oil of Eugenia uniflora L (Surinam cherry) showed the highest antibacterial activity.
Part of the book: Potential of Essential Oils