Comparison of Chemical Profile and Antibacterial Activity of Cinnamomum cassia Bark Essential Oil from Three different Vietnamese Provinces

This study aimed to investigate the variations in constituents, physicochemical properties and antibacterial activity of Cinnamomum cassia bark essential oils from three selected regions of Vietnam (Yen Bai, Quang Ngai and Kon Tum).

Gas chromatography- Mass spectroscopy was employed for the analysis of essential oils extracted by hydro-distillation. Physicochemical properties were analyzed per standard test methods (AOAC). The antibacterial activity of Cinnamomum cassia bark essential oils against ten different microbial strains was assayed by the determination of minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values employing the broth macro-dilution and inoculation methods.

The Cinnamomum cassia bark essential oil from Quang Ngai was recorded to be the highest yield (2.600±0.037%), followed by Kon Tum essential oil (1.505±0.045%) and Yen Bai essential oil (1.315±0.136%). GC-MS analysis revealed the extremely high content of trans-cinnamaldehyde present in Cinnamomum cassia bark essential oils from Kon Tum (96.07%), followed by Yen Bai essential oil (94.72%) and Quang Ngai essential oil (94.06%). There were generally no significant differences in physicochemical parameters among the three essential oils tested; however, variations in antibacterial activity against ten studied microbial strains have been documented in terms of MIC and MBC values. These findings confirmed the high quality of Cinnamomum cassia bark essential oils from three selected provinces but varying in MIC and MBC values against ten studied microbial strains.