Antioxidant Activity of the Essential Oil and its Major Terpenes of (Moc. and Sessé ex Benth.) Briq.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant activity of (Moc. and Sessé ex Benth.) Briq. (Lamiaceae) essential oil, a Mexican medicinal plant known as nurite.

Materials And Methods: Fresh aerial parts of plants cultivated in greenhouse for 3 months were subjected to hydrodistillation in a Clevenger apparatus to obtain essential oil. Volatile compounds were identified by gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry. Antioxidant effectiveness of essential oil and its major terpenes of was examined by three different radical scavenging methods: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). The concentrations tested were 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, and 1 mg/mL.

Results: The major volatile compounds were caryophyllene, limonene, linalool, pulegone, menthone, and thymol. essential oil showed the highest free radical scavenging activity with DPPH and ABTS methods (53.10% and 92.12%, respectively) at 1 mg/mL and 98% with TAC method at 0.1 mg/mL. Thymol exerted the highest antioxidant capacity with 0.1 mg/mL, reaching 83.38%, 96.96%, and 98.57% by DPPH, ABTS, and TAC methods. Caryophyllene, limonene, linalool, pulegone, and menthone exhibited an antioxidant capacity <25% with the DPPH and ABTS methods; however, limonene showed a TAC of 85.41% with 0.01 mg/mL.

Conclusion: The essential oil of and thymol showed a free radical scavenging activity close to that of the synthetic butylated hydroxytoluene.

Summary: The major volatile compounds of essential oil of were caryophyllene, limonene, linalool, pulegone, menthone and thymolThe essential oil of showed a high free radical scavengingThymol exerted the highest antioxidant capacity by DPPH, ABTS and TAC methods. GC: Gas Chromatography; DPPH: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; ABTS: 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid; TAC: Total antioxidant capacity.