Chemical composition of <i>Wurfbania compacta</i> fruit essential oil and its antimicrobial effect

Wurfbania compacta (Sol. ex Maton) Škorničk. &amp; A.D.Poulsen (Zingiberaceae), commonly known as round cardamom or Java cardamom (kapulaga in Indonesian), is a species widely utilized as both a traditional medicine and spice in Indonesia. Until now, there have been no studies reporting the identification of W. compacta fruit essential oil from Indonesia using gas chromatography (GC) with dual columns and dual detectors. This research aimed to analyze the chemical compounds in W. compacta fruit essential oil using GC with dual columns (DB-5/DB17) and to evaluate its antimicrobial activity against various pathogenic microorganisms. The findings revealed that W. compacta essential oil had a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of &gt;1024 µg/ml against all tested microorganisms ( Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Candida albicans ). The essential oil extracted from W. compacta fruit via hydrodistillation was colorless and had an aromatic scent. A total of 66 constituents, accounting for 98.95%/99.00% of the total oil, were identified on both columns. The analysis indicated that the primary constituents of the oil were monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, and diterpenoids, with a combined content of 98.95%/99.00%. Monoterpenoids were the most prevalent components, making up 92.87%/92.30% of the oil.