Sarcouncil Journal of Biomedical Sciences

Abstract: The chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oil isolated from leaves of Zingiber montanum (Koenig) Link ex A. Dietr collected in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, were investigated using integrated in vitro approaches. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed 23 were tentatively identified, representing 99.59% of the total oil composition. The essential oil was characterized mainly by terpenoid constituents, particularly isopropyl myristate (13.85%), (E)-Cinnamaldehyde (23.37%), Methyl salicylate (16.84%), (-)-Methol (35.95%), α-Campholenal (1.1%), and trans-sabinene hydrate (3.87%). The essential oil exhibited notable antioxidant activity in the DPPH radical scavenging assay with an IC50 value of 0.100 ± 0.007 mg/mL, which was slightly strong than that of Trolox (IC50 = 0.342 ± 0.003 mg/mL). Selective antimicrobial activity was observed, particularly against Escherichia coli, with an inhibition zone diameter of 96.667 ± 5.774 mm at 0.020 mg/mL. However, these computational results should be considered preliminary and supportive rather than direct evidence of target-specific inhibition. Overall, the obtained findings suggest that Zingiber montanum essential oil represents a promising natural source of multifunctional bioactive constituents with potential pharmaceutical and functional applications.