Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of Tagetes filifolia Lag. essential oil from Peruvian Andes

The chemical composition of the essential oil from the aerial parts (leaves and flowers) of Tagetes filifolia Lag. grown in the Peruvian Andes was examined throughout the gas chromatography and gas chromatography -mass spectrometry techniques. Fifty-seven compounds were identified representing more than 99% of the essential oil. Phenylpropanoids had the major percentage, including ( E )-anethol (85.0%) and estragole (12.9%) as the most abundant compounds. A multivariate analysis was performed using hierarchical cluster analysis to examine the relationship between the studied sample and other T. filifolia specimens from 21 essential oil compositions reported in the literature. Agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis reveals three groups: ( E )-anethole/estragole, estragole/( E )-anethole and an outlier ( Z )-anethole/estragole. In addition, antioxidant activity was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. The essential oil had a moderate scavenging effect and ferric reducing capacity.