Chemical Compositions, Mosquito Larvicidal and Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oils from Five Species of Growing Wild in North Central Vietnam.

Members of the genus (Lauraceae) have aromatic volatiles in their leaves and bark and some species are commercially important herbs and spices. In this work, the essential oils from five species of (, , , and ) growing wild in north central Vietnam were obtained by hydrodistillation, analyzed by gas chromatography and screened for antimicrobial and mosquito larvicidal activity. The leaf essential oil of , rich in β-phellandrene (23.1%) and linalool (32.2%), showed excellent antimicrobial activity (MIC of 32 μg/mL against and ) and larvicidal activity (24 h LC of 17.4 μg/mL on and 14.1 μg/mL against ). leaf essential oil also showed notable antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and mosquito larvicidal activity, attributable to relatively high concentrations of neral (11.7%) and geranial (16.6%). Thus, members of the genus from Vietnam have shown promise as antimicrobial agents and as potential vector control agents for mosquitoes.