Physicochemical characterization and evaluation of the antioxidant activities of essential oil extracted from Eucalyptus globulus

Abstract

This work was conducted as part of evaluation of the antioxidant activities of the essential oil extracted from a plant that belongs to the family of Myrtaceae: Eucalyptus globulus. The extraction of the essential oil was carried out by hydrodistillation and followed by extraction yield determination and physicochemical analysis. Then, the evaluation of the antioxidant activity was performed according to the method of DPPH free radical scavenging and the determination of total antioxidant capacity. The extraction of the essential oil gave a content of 0.41 ± 0.01%. The analytical study of the physicochemical properties of the essential oil of E. globulus showed that this plant presented an essential oil of acceptable quality and in conformity with the standard. The results of the evaluation of the antioxidant activity showed that this essential oil has interesting antiradical properties. It was manifested by a low value of IC50 (0.017 mg /ml) compared to the standard antioxidant (ascorbic acid). It was noticed that the essential oil of E. globulus has an antioxidant capacity of the order of 19 ± 0.01 mg AAE/g. This result showed that the essential oil of E. globulus has a powerful antioxidant power by reducing phosphomolybdate. Thus, the essential oil of E. globulus appeared effective in reducing oxidative reactions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5033546

Keywords

• Extraction
• Eucalyptus globulus
• Antioxidant
• Essential oil
• Oxidative stress