ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF TURKISH CITRUS PEEL OILS

Abstract

The samples of the Citrus fruits viz., lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.), grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macfayden), bergamot (Citrus bergamia Risso et Poit.), bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.), sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck), mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) were collected from southern Turkey (Antalya) in November 2006 and their peel oils were obtained by cold-pressing process. The antimicrobial activities of Turkish Citrus peel oils were evaluated using the disk diffusion method toward 9 bacteria and the results compared with those for penicillin-g, ampicillin, cefotaxime, vancomycine, oflaxacin and tetracycline. Antifungal activities were reported for Kluyveromyces fragilis, Rhodotorula rubra, Candida albicans, Hanseniaspora guilliermondii and Debaryomyces hansenii yeasts, and the results were referenced against nystatin, ketaconazole and clotrimazole antifungal agents. The Citrus peel oils showed strong antimicrobial activity against the test organisms. Lemon and bergamot peel oils have a little higher activity than the other Citrus peel oils.