Elettaria cardamomum: chemical composition and antimicrobial activity. an in vitro study

Recent years have seen an increase in microbial resistance, which has led to great challenges for the medical community in terms of treating diseases and the food industry in terms of contamination and the loss of shelf life. This research aimed to evaluate the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Elettaria cardamomum against the following reference strains: Streptococcus pyogenes (ATCC 19615), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Shigella flexneri (ATCC 12022), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Escherichia coli ( ATCC 25922), Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 14028), Haemophilus influenzae type B (ATCC 10211), Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 19114), Bacillus cereus (ATCC 10876) Clostridium perfringens (ATCC 13124), Candida parapsilopsis (ATCC 22019) and Candida albicans ( ATCC 10231). The chemical analysis revealed 24 GC-MS- identified compounds using a Shimadzu QP 2010 Plus apparatus (Columbia, SC, USA) equipped with an AT WAX 30 m 0.32 mm 1 ?m capillary column. The antimicrobial activity and MIC evaluation using the microdilution method suggested a higher efficacy against Gram-positive bacteria and fungi than Gram-negative bacteria.