Chemical Profile, Antibacterial, and Antioxidant Properties of <i>Aloysia citriodora</i> Essential Oil from Mexico

Abstract This study evaluates the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of essential oil (EO) extracted from Aloysia citriodora leaves. The EO was obtained via hydrodistillation of dried leaves and chemically characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), identifying linalool (1.25%), piperitone (21.23%), sabinene (29.35%), spathulenol (14.47%), and caryophyllene (3.46%) as its major bioactive constituents. Antioxidant activity was assessed using DPPH ● and ABTS ●± assays, revealing strong free radical scavenging with IC 50 values of 1.655 ± 0.055 mg/mL and 0.063 ± 0.005 mg/mL, respectively. Antibacterial efficacy was tested against Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Enterococcus faecalis through disk diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assays. Inhibition zones ranged from 11.91 ± 0.74 to 6.66 ± 0.26 mm, while MIC and MBC values varied between 0.25 ± 0 and 5 ± 0 mg/mL. The results indicate significant antibacterial activity, primarily attributed to the high levels of sabinene, piperitone, and spathulenol.