Determination of the constituents, inhibition microorganisms tested and microorganisms in pork of the essential oil from Eucalyptus citriodora Hook leaves

The objective of this study is to determine all the constituents, inhibition microorganisms tested and microorganisms in pork of the essential oil from Eucalyptus citriodora Hook leaves. The essential oil from Eucalyptus citriodora Hook leaves in Vinh Phuc, was obtained by steam distillation and dried with Na2SO4. By Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method, seventeen components in the essential oil of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook leaves were predicted by comparing their retention times and molecular weights with the standards. In particular, among thirteen hydrocarbons, monoterpene accounts for 1.74%, and sesquiterpene accounts for 22.30%; Among the 14 oxidized hydrocarbon components: 24.72% alcohols, 5.95% ketones, 29.84% aldehydes, and 14.26% esters. The results showed that the essential oil of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook leaves possessed antibacterial activity against all of the five microorganisms tested. Among them, the antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella enterica, and Lactobacillus fermentum was the highest. Therefore, based on the microbiological criteria and to reduce the cost during the preservation process, the content of essential oil of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook leaves of 0.4% per pork weight was selected as the basis for building a process to preserve pork with essential oil of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook leaves at 6oC. This is the scientific basis for the application of essential oil Eucalyptus citriodora Hook leaves in food processing and preservation, which is very necessary with high scientific and practical significance.