Chemical composition and antimicrobial properties of essential oils extracted from citrus fruit peels

Essential oils from peels of 6 citrus species were extracted. The species were lemon (Citrus limon), orange (C. sinensis), grapefruit (C. paradisi), pomelo (C. maxima), mandarin (C. reticulata) and bitter lemon (C. aurantium) using hydro-distillation (Clevenger type). In general Gram-positive bacteria were more sensitive to the oil extracts tested than Gram-negative bacteria, and P. aeruginosa was the most sensitive within the Gram-negative group.