Limonene extraction from the zest of Citrus sinensis, Citrus limon, Vitis vinifera and evaluation of its antimicrobial activity

Citrus rinds contain essential oils. One of the major constituents of the essential oils in the zest of different fruits like Citrus sinensis, C. limon, and Vitis vinifera is limonene. In this research, limonene was extracted by hydro-distillation method using Clevenger set up and its antimicrobial activity against certain bacterial and fungal strains was determined by using Kirby Bauer’s disc diffusion method. The primary antimicrobial screening of limonene without dilution exhibited a zone of inhibition (mm) comparable to Ampicillin (20mg/ml) and Amphotericin B (20mg/ml). The effect of pure limonene against all strains used was high as compared to the isolated samples. The MIC values also showed an expected decrease in the zone of inhibition from 1:2 to 1:8 dilutions. Based on this study, the cost-effective isolation of limonene and other essential oils is quite possible.