Evaluation of antioxidant activity and phytochemical composition of Baeckea frutescens and Leptospermum javanicum essential oils
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-1-2021
Abstract
Plant extracts such as essential oils are a common yet valuable source of antioxidants for application in pharmaceutical and food preservative. In this study, the phytochemical profile of Baeckea frutescens (BF) and Leptospermum javanicum (LJ) essential oils were determined using GC-FID and GC/MS analyses. This resulted in the identification of 13 components (82.03%) in the essential oil of BF, the major compounds were p-cymene (1, 31.06%), alpha-pinene (2, 24.53%), 1,8-cineole (3, 11.49%), and gamma-terpinene (4, 8.31%). Whilst, 32 components (84.62%) were detected in the essential oil of LJ, in which sabinene (5, 25.83%) and alpha-pinene (2, 12.17%) were the major components. The antioxidant activity of the essential oils were evaluated using a wide array of radical scavenging assays, such as DPPH radical scavenging, reducing power, metal chelating, and beta-carotene bleaching assays. From the results, both BF and LJ essential oils exhibited appreciable antioxidant activity in all assays (EC50 0.29-1.39 mg/mL), except in DPPH radical scavenging assay (EC50 > 50 mg/mL). The essential oil of BF had a higher overall antioxidant capacity than LJ. With reference to the phytochemical profile, compounds 1-5 are potent antioxidants, which may substantially contribute to the antioxidant capacity of the essential oils. (C) 2021 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Chemotype, GC/MS, Myrtaceae, Oxidative stress, Radical scavenging activity
Divisions
Science
Funders
University of Malaya Postgraduate Research Grant (PPP) (PG080-2013B),University of Malaya Research Grant (UMRG) (RG082-13BIO),Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) (FP006-2013A)
Publication Title
South African Journal of Botany
Volume
141
Publisher
Elsevier
Publisher Location
RADARWEG 29, 1043 NX AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS