Leptospermum petersonii Bailey Essential Oil as Antagonist against Plant Pathogen Bacteria

Abstract

Natural ingredients have been used in folk medicine since ancient times. These naturally occurring substances, which can come from plants, are often considered a priori harmless. Certain species of plants called Leptospermum are said to have considerable benefits in traditional medicine. The essential oils of L. scoparium are often used as antibacterial agents. The determination of the antibacterial activity of L. scoparium essential oil against representatives of plant bacteria was the aim of our experiment. The disc diffusion method was used for testing under in vitro conditions and the vapor phase method was used against five different bacteria under in situ conditions. Carrot was used as a model food for in situ. The best antibacterial activity of L. scoparium essential oil against B. subtilis was found using the disc diffusion method. This method was also used to test the antibiotic resistance of the model bacterial species, which was higher than the antibacterial activity of L. scoparium essential oil. L. scoparium essential oil showed the best antibacterial effect against Xanthomonas arboricola at a concentration of 62.5 µg/L in the carrot model. Therefore, it can be concluded that the essential oil has adequate antibacterial capacity and can be used as a suitable natural preservative to prolong the shelf life of carrots.

Keywords

• disc diffusion method
• vapor phase
• antimicrobial activity
• lemon tea tree essential oil