Screening of Chemical Composition of Essential Oil

Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 5(10), pp. 2035-2040, 18 May, 2011 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/JMPR ISSN 1996-0875 ©2011 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Screening of chemical composition of essential oil, mineral elements and antioxidant activity in Pulicaria Undulata (L.) C. A. Mey from Iran
Mehdi Ravandeh1, Jafar Valizadeh2*, Meissam Noroozifar1 and Mozhgan Khorasani-Motlagh1
1

Department of Chemistry, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, P. O. Box 98155-987, Iran. 2 Department of Biology, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, P. O. Box 98155-987, Iran.
Accepted 17 March, 2011

Pulicaria undulata (L.) C.A. Mey is a medicinal plant used to treat inflammation. It is also an insect repellent and herbal tea. In this study, concentration of macro minerals (that is, Ca, K and Mg) and micro minerals (major and trace elements) (that is, Fe, Cu, Na and Mn) and P, were estimated in Pulicaria undulata from the Sistan and Baluchestan province. Sample preparation using microwave digestion was used for mineralization of this plant. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) and UV-Visible spectrophotometry were used to quantify metal levels and Phosphorus, respectively. Essential oil from aerial parts of P. undulata was obtained by hydrodistillation. The chemical constituents of essential oil of aerial parts were analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS techniques. The main components identified in the oil were 4-Terpineole (20.12%), alpha terpinene (4.02%), gamma terpinene (7.00%), cis-sabinene hydrate (8.29%), Linalool (5.60%), 1S-cis-calamenene (13.37%) and Junipene (8.66%). In addition, antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method. Key words: Macro and micro minerals, microwave digestion, Pulicaria undulata, antioxidant activity. INTRODUCTION Essential oils are volatile, natural, complex compounds characterized by a strong odour and

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