Chemical and Antibacterial Activity Evaluation of Alpinia calcarata and Alpinia zerumbet Grown in Foothills Agroclimatic Conditions of Northern India

Background: The member of the genus Alpinia (family: Zingiberaceae) is used in traditional medicine for various formulations for the food, spices, medicines, and perfume. Objective: The present study was carried out to analyse the compositional variability in leaf and rhizome essential oils of Alpinia calcarata Roscoe and Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L. Burtt & R.M. Sm. and to evaluate their antimicrobial activity against eight pathogenic bacteria strains. Methods: The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC and GC-MS and the antibacterial activity was evaluated by filter paper disc diffusion and micro dilution broth assay. Results: A total of 31 compounds identified, forming 89.26-94.32% composition of A. calcarata and A. zerumbet. The leaf and rhizome oil of A. calcarata and A. zerumbet were mainly characterized by 1,8-cineole (15.61-43.63%), β-pinene (5.02-23.52%), terpinen-4-ol (1.00-20.87%), camphor (1.94-11.60%), and (Z)-β-ocimene (0.16-11.86%). endo-Fenchyl acetate (13.12-24.39%) was identified as marker constituents of rhizome essential oil of both A. calcarata and A. zerumbet. The antibacterial assay showed that leaf oil of A. calcarata has good activity against S. mutans, whereas its rhizome oil possess good activity against K. pneumoniae, E. coli, S. aureus, and S. epidermidis. However, the rhizome oil of A. zerumbet showed activity against S. mutans, B. subtilisS. aureus-2940 and S. epidermidis. Conclusion: The essential oils of A. calcarata and A. zerumbet with aroma chemicals viz. 1,8-cineole, ocimenes, terpinen-4-ol, α-pinene, β-pinenes and fenchyl acetate and significant antibacterial activities could be used for perfumery and fragrance related formulation.