Abstract

Bamba Souleymane*, Sekongo N’golo, Oussou Kouamé Raphaël, Gué Lieuné Alexis, Traoré Lanciné, Konan Dibi Jacques and Belemlilga Bonewendé Mohamed

ABSTRACT

Essential oils generally possess significant antioxidant activities and can successfully replace synthetic antioxidants, which often present harmful side effects, in the fight against oxidative stress. In this study, we performed the chemical analysis and evaluated the antioxidant activity of the essential oils from the seeds of Xylopia aethiopica. The extraction of the oils was carried out by steam distillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (proton and carbon 13). The antioxidant activity of the oils was evaluated by two different assays (the DPPH radical and ABTS?+ tests) and compared in each test to Trolox (a reference antioxidant). The analysis results show that the essential oils of dried fruits of Xylopia aethiopica are mainly composed of β-pinene (21.3%), α-pinene (9.3%), 1,8-cineole (13.1%), and trans-pinocarveol (7.7%). The oils exhibited negligible antioxidant activity in the DPPH radical test (IC50 = 182.36 mg/mL) and moderate activity in the ABTS?+ test (8.89 mg/mL).