Abstract Eucalyptus oil has been used traditionally for bronchitis and asthma. The oil which is plentiful in leaves has also been used against diabetes, cystitis, malaria, kidney disorders, leucorrhoea and laryngitis. The anticancer activity of this oil has been studied in vivo.
The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 42 components. Major constituents are: eucalyptol (21.24%), decahydro-1,1,7-trimethyl-4-methylene – 1H-cycloprop[e]azulen-7-ol (12.59 %) , p-cymene (12.11 %), decahydro-1,1,4,7-tetramethyl-1H-cycloprop[e]azulen-4-ol (11.64 %)and β-phellandrene (8.59%).
The oil was evaluated for antibacterial activity via the agar diffusion bioassay against: Gram positive: Staphylococcus aureus and Gramnegative: Escherichia coli using ampicillin and gentamicin as positive controls. At a concentration of 100mg/ml the oil showed moderate activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
Keywords Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Essential Oil, GC-MS analysis, Antibacterial Activity.