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Essential Oil from Melaleuca alternifolia: Aromatic Profiling, Phytochemical Analysis and Assessment of Diverse Biological Activities

  • STORAGE AND PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
  • Published:
Russian Agricultural Sciences Aims and scope

Abstract

Melaleuca is a well-known genus of the Myrtaceae family, one of the major plant families with a high concentration of essential oils. The Australian tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), a genus of aromatic and herbaceous trees that belongs to the Myrtaceae family, is well known to produce herbal essential oils owing to the presence of therapeutic and medicinal elements in the plant’s by-products. In the present study, tea tree essential oil (TTEO) was extracted from Melaleuca alternifolia and was evaluated for its phytochemicals, antifungal, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities. GC-FID analysis and fingerprint analysis were performed. Different antioxidant assays were performed like DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), nitric oxide radical, hydroxyl radical, iron-reducing potential, iron chelating activity. Antibacterial activity was observed by the disk diffusion method against gram-positive (G+) and gram-negative (G−) bacteria. Antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory activities were also performed. Antifungal activity against “Aspergillosis” and “Mucormycosis” causing fungal strains was also evaluated. GC-FID revealed the presence of α-terpineol, a major component of TTEO, along with other bioactive components. The IC50 value for various assays was observed in the following order: Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (7.4486), DPPH (34.0961), ABTS (38.9952), Nitric oxide radical scavenging activity (47.4052). The best antimicrobial activity was against Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC 3160) with an inhibition zone of 0.9 cm. TTEO showed strong anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic potential and can be employed as an antidiabetic agent due to its inhibitory effect on α-amylase activity. Based on these findings, it was concluded that TTEO can be widely employed across various sectors, including aromatherapy, herbal and allopathic medicine, cosmetics, and as a natural biocide, fungicide, and preservative.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Dr. Narveer Singh for helping with wet lab experiments conducted at DST Fund for Improvement of S’T Infrastructure in Universities and Higher Educational Institutions laboratory.

Funding

The authors acknowledge support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Government of India.

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  1. PG Department of Biotechnology, Lyallpur Khalsa College, Punjab, Jalandhar, India

    Arun Dev Sharma, Inderjeet Kaur, Ravneet Kaur & Amrita Chauhan

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  1. Arun Dev Sharma
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  2. Inderjeet Kaur
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Correspondence to Arun Dev Sharma.

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Sharma, A.D., Kaur, I., Kaur, R. et al. Essential Oil from Melaleuca alternifolia: Aromatic Profiling, Phytochemical Analysis and Assessment of Diverse Biological Activities. Russ. Agricult. Sci. 49, 558–574 (2023). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068367423050105

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