abstract essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaves of eugenia rottleriana was analyzed by gc and gc/ms. twenty-eight compounds constituting 99.1% of the analyzed sample were identified. the oil was characterized by the predominance of monoterpenes (61.2%) with limonene (50.3%) as the major constituent. -humulene (13.3 %), -caryophyllene (8.8%) and linalool (3.2%) were the other major components. the oil displayed significant antibacterial activity when tested against bacillus cereus and moderate activity against serratia marcescens and escherichia coli.