The essential oil from the rhizomes of Allium hookeri Thwaites, obtained by simultaneous distillation extraction, was analyzed by GC-MS. Di-2-propenyl trisulfide (31.8%), diallyl disulfide (28.4%), and dipropyl trisulfide (8.4%) were the main constituents among the thirteen identified components. The essential oil showed strong activity against Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans with MIC (the minimal inhibitory concentration) and MBC (minimal bactericidal concentration) values ranging from 32–64 μg/mL. These results suggest that the essential oil from the rhizomes of A. hookeri could be used as a potential antimicrobial ingredient in the food industry.
(a) ChenX.Q., LiangS.Y., XuJ.M., TamuraM.N. (2000) Flora of China, Lilicete. 73–263; (b) Block E, Ahmad S, Catalfamo JL, Jain MK, Apitz-Castro R. (1986) The chemistry of alkyl thiosulfinate esters. 9. Antithrombotic organosulfur compounds from garlic: structural, mechanistic, and synthetic studies. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 108, 7045–7055; (c) Aviello G, Abenavoli L, Borrelli F, Capasso R, Izzo AA, Lembo F, Romano B, Capasso F. (2009) Garlic: empiricism or science? Natural Product Communications, 4, 1785–1796.
2.
(a) KyungK.H. (2012) Antimicrobial properties of Allium species. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 23, 142–147; (b) Ye CL, Dai DH, Hu WL. (2013) Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil from onion (Allium cepa L.). Food Control, 30, 48–53.
3.
(a) HuG.H., ShengC., MaoR.G., MaZ.Z., LuY.H., WeiD.Z. (2013) Essential oil composition of Allium tuberosum seed from China. Chemistry of Natural Compounds, 48, 1091–1093; (b) Lopes D, Godoy RLO, Goncalves SL, Koketsu M, Oliveira AM. (1997) Sulphur constituents of the essential oil of nira (Allium tuberosum Rottl.) cultivated in Brazil. Flavour and Fragrance Journal, 12, 237–239.
4.
(a) IvanovaA., MikhovaB., NajdenskiH., TsvetkovaI., KostovaI. (2009) Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of wild garlic Allium ursinum of Bulgarian origin. Natural Product Communications, 4, 1059–1062; (b) Pino JA, Fuentes V, Correa MT. (2001) Volatile constituents of Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum Rottl. ex Sprengel) and rakkyo (Allium chinense G. Don). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 49, 1328–1330.
5.
(a) DicksonR.A., HoughtonP.J., HylandsP.J., GibbonsS. (2006) Antimicrobial, resistance-modifying effects, antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities of Mezoneuron benthamianum Baill., Securinega virosa Roxb. & Wlld. and Microglossa pyrifolia Lam. Phytotherapy Research, 20, 41–45; (b) CLSI: Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (2006) Methods for dilution antimicrobial susceptibility tests for bacteria that grow aerobically; Approved Standard-Seventh Edition. Document M7-A7. CLSI, Wayne, Pa, USA; (c) NCCLS: National Committee for Clinical and Laboratory Standards (1999) Methods for determining bactericidal activity of antimicrobial agents; Approved Guideline; Document M26-A. CLSI (formerly NCCLS), Wayne, Pa, USA.
