• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.179-183
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• 1999

The volatile components (essential oil) showing antimicrobial activity were extracted from the fruit peel of Zanthoxylum piperitum DC by distillation and separated by thin layer chromatography (TLC). The crude volatile components exhibited antimicrobial activity only at very high concentration. The active fraction obtained by TLC inhibited noticeably the growth of bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the fraction were 150ppm, 300ppm, and 300ppm against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enteritidis, respectively. The components in the active fraction were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to be geranlyl acetate (60.23%), citronellal(36.01%), citronellol(3.77%), geraniol(0.46%), and cumin ldehyde(0.43%).