Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS) analysis, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity of essential oils based on γ-‎irradiated clove and cinnamon

Farahat, Hamed Aly; Altanahy, Hassan Hassan; Abdelhafez, Mohamed Khairy; Anwar, Mervat Mohamed; Soliman, Ibrahim Ali; Elshimy, Sabry

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2025.371423.11520

Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS) analysis, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity of essential oils based on γ-‎irradiated clove and cinnamon

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Nuclear Research Center, egyptian atomic energy authority

² Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University

³ Plant Research Department, Nuclear Research Center (NRC), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Egypt

⁴ Plant Research Department, Nuclear Research Center (NRC), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Egypt.

10.21608/ejchem.2025.371423.11520

Abstract

This study was aimed to evaluate the extracted essential oils constituents of gamma irradiated clove buds and cinnamon barks as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents. Three doses of gamma irradiation i.e. 4, 8, and 12 kGy were done on clove and cinnamon and essential oil were extracted. The total phenolics content (TPC) and total flavonoids content (TFC) were investigated. Results demonstrated that the main components of clove and cinnamon essential oils based GC/MS were eugenol and trans-cinnamaldehyde, respectively. At the dose 12 kGy, the TPC were 91.57 and 52.89 mg GAE /100g oil and TFC were 23.25 and 19.71mg QE/100g oil for clove and cinnamon essential oils, respectively. Moreover, DPPH radical scavenging assay values were 96.11 and 95.61% while, FRAP were 1332.94 and 1312.94 µM TE/mg oil for each clove and cinnamon essential oils, respectively. In addition the antimicrobial activity of essential oils against gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus Subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus), gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella Typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli) and three fungi strains (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Penicillium digitatum) revealed that each tested oils had a growth inhibition impact on the microorganism under study, while 12 kGy was more effective against the majority of microorganism. Consequently, the current study recommends that essential oils derived from clove buds and cinnamon barks could be used as natural, safe and efficient substitutes of synthetic (preservatives, antioxidants, and antimicrobials) in food products and pharmaceutical formulations due to their exceptional biological activities.

Keywords