Objective   Chemical compositions andin vitro antibacterial activity of a variety of extracts from Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC were studied.

  Method   Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to analyze the chemical compositions of B. blsamifera extracts in the forms of oil, powder, and camphor. Sensitivity, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) against the common oral anaerobes, i.e., Streptococcus mutans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Prevotella intermedia, of the products were determined by means of the cup plate, micro-broth dilution, and agar culture medium plate methods.

  Result   There were 56 compounds identified from the oil, 19 from the power, and 8 from the camphor product. Chemically, the oil was significantly more complex than the other two, and only l-borneol was commonly found among them. The relative content of l-borneol in the oil was 13.36%, 81.40% in the powder, and 76.07% in the camphor. All 3 products exhibited varying degrees of moderate sensitivity to S. mutans, F. nucleatum, and P. intermedia, but not at all to P. gingivalis, on the in vitro antibacterial tests. They also showed varying inhibitory effects on the oral anaerobic bacteria with MICs ranging from 8.34 to 100 mg·mL⁻¹. Among them, the oil had the highest MICs ranging 8.34–16.68 mg·mL⁻¹ and MBCs 33.35–133.4 mg·mL⁻¹, but no significant difference between the powder and the camphor. In addition, since the MBCs of the powder and the camphor to P. gingivalis, the powder to S. mutans, and the camphor to P. intermedia were all greater than 200 mg·mL⁻¹, the bactericidal efficacies of the powder and the camphor were not considered highly desirable in comparison to the oil.

  Conclusion   The various forms of B. blsamifera extracts displayed in vitro antibacterial activities against some common oral anaerobic bacteria, especially on F. nucleatum by the oil.