Unveiling the chemical composition and bioactivity potential of the essential oil of <i>Alpinia glabra</i> Ridl. (Zingiberaceae)

This study investigated the chemical composition, antifungal, antibiofilm and anticholinesterase inhibitory activities of the essential oil from <i>Alpinia glabra</i> Ridl. (Zingiberaceae) from Malaysia. The essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation and analysed using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), revealing 35 chemical components comprising 98.3% of the total oil. The major components identified were β-cadinene (28.5%), benzaldehyde (8.0%), δ-cadinene (6.0%), (<i>E</i>)-nerolidol (5.4%), α-cadinol (4.8%), and viridiflorol (4.0%). Antifungal tests against <i>Candida albicans</i> (ATCC MYA-4901) and <i>Streptococcus mutans</i> (Ingbritt) showed MIC values of 250 µg/mL. The essential oil increased the biofilm of <i>Candida albicans</i> by 42.14%, however, decreased the biofilm of <i>Streptococcus mutans</i> by 64.41% when treated with 500 µg/mL. The essential oil exhibited moderate anticholinesterase activity with 48.5% and 57.2% inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase, respectively, at 500 µg/mL. These findings highlight the potential applications of <i>A. glabra</i> essential oil in antifungal, antibiofilm and anticholinesterase therapies.