Purity, Antimicrobial Activities and Olfactory Evaluations of 2-Phenylethanol and Some Derivatives

Abstract

Commercially available 2-phenylethanol and some of its derivatives were analyzed for their purity using GC and GC/MS. The olfactory quality of the samples was evaluated by professional perfumers. Antimicrobial tests using an agar dilution and an agar diffusion method were done to obtain information about their activities against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as the yeast Candida albicans. The effects were compared with those of the phenolic compound eugenol and some synthetic antibiotics. Most of the investigated compounds were found to show a characteristic, pleasant odor, mostly with a sweet-floral top-note, but do not possess a high activity against many strains of microorganisms used.

Key Word Index:

• 2-Phenylethanol
• 2-phenylethyl formate
• 2-phenylethyl acetate
• 2-phenylethyl propionate
• 2-phenylethyl butyrate
• 2-phenylethyl isobutyrate
• 2-phenylethyl benzoate
• 2-phenylethyl salicylate
• 2-phenylethyl valerate
• 2-phenylethyl isovalerate
• 2-phenylethyl pivalate
• 2-phenylethyl cinnamate
• 2-phenylethyl methylether
• 2-phenylethyl phenyl-acetate
• antimicrobial activity
• olfactory description