Abstract

The (Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers.) is widely used to treat intestinal diseases, abdominal pain, helminth infections, digestion, stimulates digestive enzyme secretion, enhances appetite, reduces bloating, and indigestion. However, the chemical composition and biological properties of the essential oil of (Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers.) collected in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam, have not been investigated. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify the chemical composition of (Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers.) essential oil. The agar disc diffusion method was used to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the essential oil. All parts of the plant — leaves, flowers, and bark — contain essential oils, among which the bark has the highest content. The main constituents include Z-citral (32.9%), sabinen (14.2%), linalool (9.5%), limonen (9.2%) and -pinen (6.0). In the antibacterial test, Litsea cubeba essential oil demonstrated strong antibacterial activity against E. coli, with an inhibition resistance of 86.80%. Our results indicate that the essential oil of (Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers.) collected in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam, has great potential in the pharmaceutical industry.