AbstractA phytochemical study of the rhizome essential oils of four different Hedychium species was performed by means of GC and GC/MS analyses. H. ellipticum mainly contained 1,8‐cineole, sabinene, and terpin‐4‐ol, while H. aurantiacum possessed terpin‐4‐ol, para‐cymene, and bornyl acetate as the major entities. Similarly, trans‐meta‐mentha‐2,8‐diene and linalool were noticed in H. coronarium. Three different collections (I–III) of H. spicatum showed amazing differences in the relative contents of their essential oils, 1,8‐cineole and 10‐epi‐γ‐eudesmol being identified as markers for samples I and II, terpin‐4‐ol and sabinene being the major compounds in sample III. The rhizome essential oils of the above species were studied for their antioxidant activities by different methods, including their effect on the chelating properties of Fe2+, DPPH radical‐scavenging activity, and reducing power. Antimicrobial screenings of the oils by the paper‐disc method were performed against Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexneri, Pasteurella multocida, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enterica enterica, and the respective minimum‐inhibitory‐concentration (MIC) values were determined. The rhizome essential oils from all Hedychium species exhibited moderate‐to‐good Fe2+ chelating activity. H. spicatum from collection site III showed a completely different DPPH radical‐scavenging profile than the samples from the other collection sites.