Patchouli essential oil: Unlocking antimicrobial potential for dandruff control

Abstract

Abstract Dandruff causes the scalp to peel and results in itching, which is caused by one of the fungi, Malassezia globosa. Several studies have revealed that the compounds in essential oils can act as antimicrobials. To broaden insights regarding the potential compounds in essential oils, this research focuses on the potential of patchouli essential oil in inhibiting the growth of dandruff-causing microbes. One of the compounds with antimicrobial potential in patchouli oil is patchouli alcohol. The steam distillation method was used for extraction oil from dried patchouli stems and leaves to produce three different types of oil samples: crude patchouli oil, heavy fraction patchouli oil, and light fraction patchouli oil. Subsequently, the GC-MS analysis was conducted to compare the compound contents in samples. Our results indicate that the three patchouli oil samples have varying patchouli alcohol contents. Crude patchouli oil contains 31.2% patchouli alcohol; heavy fraction patchouli oil contains 61.82% patchouli alcohol, while light fraction patchouli oil contains 23.99% patchouli alcohol. This study demonstrates that heavy fraction patchouli oil has a greater potential as an antimicrobial compared to crude patchouli oil and light fraction patchouli oil.